The Life
by Zanessalover576
Summary: Sequel to The Choice and The Consequences. Troy, Gabriella, Grace, and Logan come face to face with major challenges that could alter their lives in various ways. Will they be able to get through it as a family? Will Troy and Gabriella's marriage survive it? Find out...
1. No Heartbeat

A couple years had passed and Gabriella and Troy were stronger than ever. Troy was in his second year of college at U of A and Gabriella had gotten a job at a lab close to home. Troy was still working at the auto shop to help make ends meet. Grace was five years old and looked exactly like Gabriella. She was full of energy and loved to play with Logan, who was now three. Lucille and Maria were still helping the couple by watching the kids and picking Grace up from kindergarten. One day, Gabriella was driving home from work when she decided to stop at the auto shop and see her husband. A month ago she found out that she was pregnant and today she had had a doctor's appointment and got some devastating news. Gabriella hadn't even told Troy that she was pregnant yet. She pulled into the parking lot of the auto shop and parked her car. Gabriella walked into the garage and smiled when she saw Chuck, Troy's boss.

"Hey Gabi, how's it going?" Chuck asked.

"I'm doing okay. How are you?" Gabriella asked.

"As good as can be. I'm assuming you are looking for Troy?" Chuck asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I think he's working on a car. Let me go find him" Chuck said.

Chuck left to go find Troy. A couple minutes later, Troy and Chuck came into the garage. Troy saw Gabriella and smiled.

"Hey baby, what's going on?" Troy asked.

"Can you get off early today?" Gabriella asked.

"I can ask. What's wrong?" Troy asked.

"I want to tell you at home" Gabriella said.

"Alright. Let me go tell Chuck" Troy said.

Troy talked to Chuck and picked up his keys. He left his car at the garage and got into Gabriella's. Troy looked at his wife.

"Brie, what's going on?" Troy asked as Gabriella started driving.

"I need to tell you at home" Gabriella said.

"Is it serious?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Gabriella pulled into the driveway and the couple got out of the car and walked into the house.

"Babe, what's wrong?" Troy asked taking her hand in his.

"You need to sit down" Gabriella said.

Troy and Gabriella walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.

"Gabriella" Troy said softly.

"About a month ago I took a pregnancy test and it came back positive" Gabriella said.

A smile crept onto Troy's face.

"That's amazing baby. It's a little earlier than we would have liked because we wanted to space them out, but-"Troy started.

Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks.

"You aren't happy about it" Troy concluded.

Gabriella shook her head.

"It's not that, Troy. I went to Dr. Brand to have an ultrasound and she said that I had a miscarriage" Gabriella said.

Troy's mouth twitched. He looked at his wife and felt an overwhelming amount of emotion.

"Why didn't you tell me a month ago?" Troy asked.

"I wanted to know for sure. I went in today for an ultrasound and was going to tell you tonight when you got off work, but she said there was no heartbeat or life in the baby and I didn't know what to do" Gabriella said as she started to cry.

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and let her cry in his arms.

"Baby, look at me" Troy said.

Gabriella looked up at Troy. Troy cupped Gabriella's cheeks.

"This isn't your fault, Brie. This is not your fault okay? These things happen sometimes and we have no control of them. What is the next step? What do we do?" Troy asked.

"She said that she is going to schedule a day for me to come in and get induced and deliver it" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"You can't have a c-section and just get it over with?" Troy asked.

"It's not worth having a scar and a long recovery time. She said that it was at the beginning stages of a miscarriage. She said that there's going to be a lot of bleeding and to be prepared for that" Gabriella explained.

"Alright" Troy said kissing Gabriella's cheek softly.

"I should have told you and I'm-" Gabriella started.

"Don't apologize, baby. You just wanted to be sure and that's a good thing. I think that if you held off and didn't tell me about the miscarriage I would have been a little upset, but I'm not" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Did she say if it was going to be a lot of blood or not a lot?" Troy asked.

"She said there would be a lot and then it would decrease and be like a period amount" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Why don't you go upstairs and get into your pajamas and get in bed? I will be up in a minute okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly, but passionately.

"I love you and we will get through this" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Gabriella walked upstairs and got into her pajamas and got into bed. A couple days later, Troy had taken some time off work to be at home with Gabriella. One morning, Gabriella walked out of the bathroom and looked at Troy, who was sitting up.

"I'm bleeding" Gabriella said.

Troy got out of bed and looked down at Gabriella's pajamas and saw the blood stains.

"Alright. I'm going to run to the store and get those bed pads that Dr. Brand told us about so that you can sleep okay? I'll be back in a couple minutes" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek softly and left the house. A couple minutes later, as promised, Troy arrived back at the house.

"Brie, I'm back" Troy said.

Troy went into the bedroom and smiled when he saw Gabriella holding Logan.

"Why don't you change and I will get these pads set up?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and kissed Logan's head and placed him in his portable crib. She then changed into another pair of pajamas and walked over to the bed and saw Troy looking at the bed, which he had put the bed pad on. Gabriella leaned against her husband. Troy kissed Gabriella's forehead softly. Gabriella got into bed and Troy tucked her in. Troy then was about to walk out of the room when he heard Gabriella choke back a sob.

"Troy, please stay" Gabriella cried.

Troy turned around and nodded. He climbed onto the bed and sat on top of the sheets so that he wouldn't mess with the bed pad.

"Everything's going to be okay baby. Don't worry" Troy said.

"I'm sorry" Gabriella said breathlessly.

Troy moved Gabriella's chin up so that she was looking directly at him.

"This isn't your fault. I know that you are hurting. But, you have to believe that you didn't do this" Troy said.

"She said that it made it to eleven weeks. I was almost in the clear" Gabriella said.

"I know. But, let's not think about that right now okay? Let's focus on getting you better" Troy said.

Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks and nodded. Grace walked into the bedroom and looked at her parents confused.

"Mommy, it's not nap time" Grace said.

Gabriella put on a brave face and smiled at her daughter.

"I know it's not baby. But, I'm tired and I needed some rest" Gabriella said.

"You are bleeding" Grace said pointing to the bed pad.

Gabriella held her emotions together and smiled at Grace.

"It's okay sweetheart. Why don't you go downstairs and play? Daddy will be there in a minute" Gabriella said.

Grace nodded and left the room. Gabriella cried as soon as Grace left the room. Troy rubbed Gabriella's back in soothing circles.

"Are we going to tell her?" Gabriella asked.

Troy shook his head.

"She doesn't need to know. Do you need anything?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"I'm going to downstairs with Grace. Call me if you need me okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. A couple days later, Troy and Gabriella were waiting at Dr. Brand's office. She was going to give Gabriella an exam and make sure that she really did have a miscarriage. Gabriella had gone into a depression like state. She didn't really want to talk to anyone, not even Troy sometimes. They hadn't told their parents yet. The couple sat in the waiting room holding each other's hand for support. Gabriella was completely zoned out and she didn't even hear the nurse or Troy call her name.

"Baby, we are going to go into a room now" Troy said softly.

Troy helped Gabriella stand up and the couple walked into an exam room. Gabriella changed into a gown and sat on the exam table.

"Brie, can you please talk to me and tell me how you are feeling?" Troy asked softly.

"I feel like I just lost a baby, Troy. I lost our baby. It's my fault. How do you want me to talk about that? I feel like my whole body is broken and I can't put the pieces back together. I-" Gabriella started.

"Hey, hey, hey. Babe, I'm not trying to come off like I don't care about how you are doing. I know how you are doing. I just don't know what's going on in your head. This is not your fault, sweetheart. I've said it a hundred times. This isn't your fault. It just happened" Troy said.

Gabriella's lip quivered and Troy wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her head softly as she cried into his chest. Troy knew that the shock had worn off and now Gabriella was realizing what had happened.

"Look at me" Troy said.

Gabriella looked up at Troy. Her eyes had dark purple rings around them because she hadn't slept since she found out that she had a miscarriage. Her skin was paler than usual.

"I love you so much and I want to help you through this okay? But you got to let me" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled slightly and kissed Gabriella's lips softly. He smoothed her hair back. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came into the room.

"Hi guys. How are you doing, Gabi?" Dr. Brand asked.

"I'm alright" Gabriella said.

"I'm going to do an exam just to be sure that this is a miscarriage and not something else okay?" Dr. Brand said.

"There's a lot of blood" Gabriella said.

Dr. Brand nodded.

"I'll check it out okay? Can you lie back for me?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella lied down and took Troy's hand. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly.

"I'm right here baby" Troy said.

Gabriella held in her tears that were threatening to fall and squeezed her husband's hand tighter. Dr. Brand pulled up Gabriella's gown and squeezed some gel onto her stomach. She then moved the gel around with a wand and looked at the screen. Troy looked at the monitor and tried to look for any sign of the baby as well. He looked down at Gabriella, who had her eyes closed and tears running down her cheeks.

"You don't want to look?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"I don't want to see it if it's gone" Gabriella cried.

Troy took a deep breath and kissed Gabriella's head softly. Dr. Brand moved the wand around Gabriella's stomach and looked up at the monitor and nodded.

"There's no heartbeat, Gabi" Dr. Brand said solemnly.

Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks and she choked out a sob. Troy released his own tears.

"I want to do an exam as well" Dr. Brand said wiping the gel off Gabriella's stomach.

Gabriella didn't even process what was going on. She was completely out of it. Gabriella's thoughts were spiraling through her head and all she saw was darkness. A steady beeping noise woke Gabriella up. She opened her eyes and saw that she was no longer in Dr. Brand's office, but in a hospital room.

"Thank god" Troy said breathlessly.

Gabriella looked at Troy, who was sitting next to the hospital bed.

"What happened?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"You got overwhelmed by the news and you fainted. Your blood pressure dropped and that's when you fainted" Troy said.

"I'm sorry if I scared you" Gabriella said quietly.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's forehead softly.

"I'm just glad you are awake. After you fainted, Dr. Brand called the hospital and you were brought in by ambulance" Troy explained.

"How long have I been out?" Gabriella asked softly.

"An hour" Troy said.

Gabriella swallowed hard.

"I called mom and told her what happened. I know that you didn't want me to, but with you fainting, I had to. I told her to wait in the waiting room until you woke up" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Dr. Brand gave me a number for a therapist that specializes in miscarriages and she thinks that it would be a good idea for you to go see her" Troy said.

"Not now" Gabriella said.

"Baby, we need you to get better and I think this would really help you start to do that" Troy said.

"Troy, don't push it please" Gabriella said.

Troy looked down and nodded.

"I didn't mean to snap at you. I am just-" Gabriella said.

"You don't need to explain. I understand. I want you to call her when you are ready to talk" Troy said.

"I really am-" Gabriella started.

"Babe, it's okay. You are going through something that changed everything. I'd rather you yell at me than someone else" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and tears formed in her eyes.

"I love you" Gabriella cried.

Troy sniffled and smiled slightly.

"I love you too" Troy said taking Gabriella into his arms and rubbing her back as she cried.

An hour later, Troy was sitting next to Gabriella on the hospital bed.

"Dr. Brand also thought it would be a good idea to remove… _it_ since you are here. I told her that it was up to you" Troy said.

"How do you do that?" Gabriella asked.

"She said that we could let the miscarriage happen naturally, or we could have you take something to get it started" Troy said.

"Naturally is better" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I think so too. I am going to go get mom so she can see you and make sure that you are okay" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Where are the kids?" Gabriella asked.

"With my mom" Troy said.

"Does mom know?" Gabriella asked.

"No. I thought it would be better if we told her together" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I'll be right back" Troy said.

Troy left the hospital room. A couple minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Troy and Maria walked into the room.

"Gabi" Maria said.

"Hi mom" Gabriella said.

"Are you okay?" Maria asked.

"No, but I will be" Gabriella said.

"What happened?" Maria asked.

Gabriella looked at Troy, who nodded and took her hand in his.

"It's okay" Troy said.

Gabriella swallowed hard.

"I had a miscarriage" Gabriella said as tears filled her eyes once again.

Maria instantly took Gabriella into her arms and released tears of her own.

"Oh Gabi" Maria said.

"She didn't hear a heartbeat and then the bleeding-" Gabriella started.

"I know baby. I know. Just relax, okay? Troy, Lucille, and I are going to help you through this" Maria said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it. Maria smoothed her daughter's hair back and kissed her forehead.

"When are they going to discharge her?" Maria asked.

"I have no idea. I'll go talk to Dr. Brand and see what's up. You going to be okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled slightly and leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips lovingly.

"I'll be right back" Troy said softly.

Gabriella nodded. Troy left the room and went to go find Dr. Brand. He walked down the hall and took a deep breath. Troy hoped that he and Gabriella would get through this but they hadn't ever been in a situation like this before, so he really didn't know what to expect. Troy was pulled out his thoughts when he saw Dr. Brand at the nurses station.

"Troy, is everything alright?" Dr. Brand asked.

"Yeah. Gabriella and I wanted to know when she would be discharged and how this whole thing is supposed to go" Troy said.

Dr. Brand nodded and smiled slightly. She knew that Troy was trying to put on a brave face for Gabriella, she had seen it before when she first met him when Gabriella found out she was pregnant with Grace.

"I want to keep her until tomorrow for observation. If everything is okay tomorrow, you can take her home" Dr. Brand said.

Troy nodded.

"She's going to need a lot of support from you, Troy. It's going to be rough at the beginning, but it will get better with time" Dr. Brand said.

"Will the kids make it worse? Should I bring them over to my mom's so I can focus on Gabriella? What should I do?" Troy asked.

"I think that Gabriella needs to grieve and you and I both know that she won't do that if the kids are around. I think that them staying with Maria or Lucille would be beneficial for Gabriella's recovery" Dr. Brand said.

Troy nodded.

"As far as trying again, when can we start that?" Troy asked.

"Not until she's fully recovered. She may want to, but you need to tell her that she needs to get better before you can try again" Dr. Brand said.

"Okay. I will talk to Gabriella and tell her the update" Troy said.

Dr. Brand nodded. Troy walked away from the nurse's station and went down the hall to Gabriella's hospital room and smiled.

"What did she say?" Gabriella asked.

"She wants to keep you until tomorrow for observation" Troy said.

"And then I can go home?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"My mom is going to watch the kids for a while. Just so we can focus on getting you better" Troy said.

"Won't it make it better if they are home with me?" Gabriella asked.

"They are young baby. They aren't going to understand what's going on and they don't need to get stressed out either" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. That night, the couple fell asleep hoping that everything would be okay.


	2. Operation:Let's Make A Baby Tonight

The next day, Gabriella was released from the hospital. Dr. Brand had told her to rest as much as she could and to call the therapist that she had recommended. Troy walked into the bedroom and smiled slightly when he saw Gabriella buried under the sheets.

"How about I go and pick up something from Zeke's?" Troy asked sitting on the edge of the bed and putting his hand on Gabriella's leg.

"I'm not hungry" Gabriella said.

"Brie, you need to eat baby" Troy said softly.

"Troy, I'm not hungry. Can you just please leave me alone?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"Alright" Troy said.

Troy left the bedroom and went downstairs to the living room. A couple hours later, Gabriella walked downstairs and saw Troy watching television in the living room. She walked in and sat on the couch and snuggled into her husband's chest.

"I'm sorry that I'm in a bad mood" Gabriella said.

Troy turned off the television and looked at Gabriella. He motioned for her to sit down next to him. Gabriella sat down and leaned her head against Troy's chest. Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella's waist.

"I understand, Brie. I do. But you have to let me help you" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"We lost a baby and that's a very emotionally draining thing. But you need to take care of yourself baby. You can't not eat. It won't bring the baby back" Troy said.

Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks.

"Did I do something wrong?" Gabriella cried.

Troy's face softened.

"Brie, there was nothing you could have done. The baby wasn't strong enough and didn't want to fight anymore" Troy said softly.

"When can we try again?" Gabriella asked.

"Not for a while. We have to get you better and I want to make sure that you are okay before we start that" Troy explained.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.

"Can we go see the kids?" Gabriella asked changing the subject.

"If you want to" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I want to" Gabriella said.

"Alright, let's go" Troy said.

The couple left the house and drove to the Bolton home. Troy parked his car in the driveway and the couple got out of the car. They walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. A couple moments later, Lucille opened the door and instantly took Gabriella into her arms.

"How are you doing honey?" Lucille asked.

"I'm up and down. Where are my babies?" Gabriella asked.

"They are in the living room with Jack" Lucille said releasing Gabriella from her arms.

Gabriella walked into the living room and smiled when she saw Grace sitting on the couch covered in a blanket and watching cartoons. Logan was sleeping in his car seat.

"Hi baby" Gabriella said.

Grace looked at Gabriella and smiled. She jumped off the couch and ran into her mother's arms.

"Mommy" Grace said as Gabriella caught her in arms.

Gabriella kissed Grace's cheek.

"I missed you. What have you guys been doing?" Gabriella asked.

"Watching cartoons" Grace said.

"That sounds fun" Gabriella said.

"How are you feeling Gabi?" Jack asked.

"Up and down" Gabriella said.

"What did Dr. Brand say?" Lucille asked.

"She said that I need to rest and go see a therapist, but I don't want to" Gabriella said looking at Grace in her arms.

"Try it. You may like it" Lucille said.

"I don't know. We'll see" Gabriella said.

"Taylor called here looking for you. She said she couldn't get a hold of you and thought you were here" Lucille said.

"Troy unplugged the phone and turned my cell off" Gabriella said.

"Oh. I told her that I would tell you that she called" Lucille said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Thanks mom" Gabriella said.

Gabriella walked over to Logan's car seat and smiled. She put Grace back down on her feet.

"Hi baby boy" Gabriella said as she lifted him out of the seat and into her arms.

"He just ate" Jack said.

Gabriella smiled and kissed her son's head.

Troy smiled and watched Gabriella interact with their children. Maybe this was what she needed.

"Well, we just wanted to pop in and see how they were doing" Gabriella said as she put Logan back in his car seat.

"Alright honey. Call us and let us know what the plan is" Lucille said.

"We will" Gabriella said.

The couple kissed their children and left the house.

"Feel better?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I just wanted to show them that I was okay" Gabriella said.

"I know. But, you have to prove to them that you are okay by actually being okay and not putting on a brave face" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. That night, Troy and Gabriella had gone to bed. It was two in the morning, when Troy felt Gabriella slide her arms around his waist. He thought she was just moving around in her sleep, but thought wrong when he felt something wet come in contact with his bare back and a shaky breath to go with it. Troy opened his eyes and unwrapped Gabriella's arms and turned over to face her. Gabriella had tears running down her face. Troy wrapped his arms around his wife instantly and kissed her head.

"I didn't mean to wake you I just- "Gabriella started.

"It's alright. Are you okay?" Troy asked.

"I don't even know why I'm crying" Gabriella said.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Troy asked softly.

"I don't know" Gabriella said.

"Were you thinking of the baby?" Troy asked.

"I think so" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I think that I was subconsciously thinking about it" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Are you feeling a little better?" Troy asked.

Gabriella snuggled into Troy's chest and nodded.

"Alright. Go back to sleep baby. Wake me up if you need to okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella kissed Troy's lips.

"Thanks Troy. I love you" Gabriella said.

"It's my job. I love you too" Troy said.

The couple went back to sleep. The next morning, Gabriella woke up and saw that Troy was no longer in bed. She got up and walked out of the bedroom and went into kitchen and smiled when she saw Troy sitting at the table reading the newspaper. He looked up and smiled.

"Hey sleepyhead" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly and walked over to her husband and kissed his lips.

"I woke up so late" Gabriella mumbled.

"That's good though. You need to rest. Do you want me to make some more coffee?" Troy asked.

"No, I can make it" Gabriella said.

"Let me do it" Troy said.

"Troy" Gabriella said.

"Brie, let me do it" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed and gave in. She sat down at the table and waited for Troy to start the coffee maker. Troy walked back to the table and sat down.

"How are you feeling today?" Troy asked.

"Fine. Just sleepy" Gabriella said wiping her eyes.

"Maybe your body is finally allowing you to relax a little bit" Troy said.

"Maybe. When are the kids coming back?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't know yet. I just wanted to make sure that you were a hundred percent okay before we brought them home" Troy said.

"Did you think I was going to go off on them or something?" Gabriella asked.

"No. I just didn't want to have to answer Grace's questions about why you are bleeding or why you are crying or something like that. I wanted them to come home to you, being you before this happened" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy got up and poured coffee into two mugs and brought them to the table.

"I miss them" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and put one of his hands on top of Gabriella's.

"I do too. In a couple days, we can bring them home. But to do that, we have to work on you first" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded as she took a sip of her coffee.

"When I'm better do you want to try again or do we just give up?" Gabriella asked.

"That's something that we need to talk about" Troy said.

"I don't want to have another baby to be the replacement of the one we lost. But, I do want to have another one" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I don't want that either. If we have another baby it's because we want to add to our family. Not fill in a space that was once there" Troy said.

"Do you want to have another baby?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled and brought Gabriella's hand to his lips and kissed it and held it in his warm hands.

"I want to. This is a joint decision though. We both have to agree to it" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I want to. I just am more worried if I will lose it again" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"That's something we have to work on too" Troy said.

"We can only do so much" Gabriella said.

"I know. We can monitor it better and find out earlier. Whatever we have to do, we will do it" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. A couple weeks later, Gabriella and Troy both had gone back to work. One day, Troy walked into the house and smiled when he saw Gabriella on her computer. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her shoulder.

"Hi baby, how was your day?" Troy asked.

"Fine. How was yours?" Gabriella asked.

"I got an A on my chemistry test. Looks like you are rubbing off on me" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at her husband and smiled.

"That's great, Troy. See, you just need a little push in the right direction and you will be fine" Gabriella said.

"What are you doing?" Troy asked.

"Researching ways to avoid a miscarriage" Gabriella mumbled.

Troy took a deep breath. Gabriella had been recovering well from the miscarriage. She had gone back to work and it was as if the miscarriage never happened. Except for nights like these where Troy found her researching things on the internet.

"Come on, sweetheart. I think that you have had enough time to research stuff today" Troy said closing her laptop and taking it out her lap.

"I went to Dr. Brand today" Gabriella said.

"What did she say?" Troy asked.

"She said everything looks fine and that we could start trying anytime" Gabriella said.

"Babe, things like this, make me see that you aren't okay yet. Just take a break from thinking about babies and trying and just focus on getting you back to where you need to. You have been doing so well, Brie. I'm not saying that you haven't been coping with it well. I just think we should wait for a while. Give it some time to process" Troy said.

Gabriella looked down.

"I just want it so bad" Gabriella said softly.

Troy's face softened. He pulled up a chair and sat in front of his wife.

"Baby, I know you do. I know that you want to get pregnant and I know that you want to try and figure out a way around this miscarriage thing, but you can't do that until you and I both know for sure that you are okay" Troy said softly.

"I don't know how I will fully recover from this. We were seventeen when we had Grace and now at the age of twenty-two, I had a miscarriage. At twenty-two. Twenty-two year olds are supposed to be getting pregnant with their first baby" Gabriella said as tears ran down her face.

Troy's heart broke as he listened to Gabriella pour her heart out to him.

"Brie, you are going to get better and I am going to help you in any way I can. We did everything backwards but look at it from this perspective, we could have tried to have Grace and Logan and not gotten pregnant at all. We could have had no kids. We have two children that are happy and healthy…crazy beyond measures, but they are perfect. So let's enjoy them while they are still this young. If it happens, it happens" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and wrapped her arms around her husband. Troy put his hand on the small of Gabriella's back.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

That night, the couple went to bed and hoped that their conversation was the first step to getting through this difficult time. A week later, Gabriella came home from work and saw that Troy was already home.

"Hey" Troy said happily.

Gabriella smiled.

"Hi, what are you doing home so early?" Gabriella asked putting her stuff down.

"Well, I kind of have a surprise for you" Troy said.

Gabriella raised her eyebrow and looked at Troy.

"A surprise?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah. Mom took the kids for the night so that I could put my plan into action" Troy said.

"What is this plan?" Gabriella asked.

"Step one of the plan is that you need to go into our bedroom and find your first clue" Troy said.

"A scavenger hunt?" Gabriella asked.

"Sort of. Just go" Troy said.

Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips softly, but passionately.

"What this plan that you have put together Mr. Bolton?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, the end result may be the part where your dream will come true. But, it may or may not be the end result. You will just have to see for yourself" Troy said.

Gabriella blushed.

"Go and start your hunt" Troy said.

Twenty minutes later, Gabriella was on her third clue that she found. She had gone everywhere in the house. Troy was leaning against the doorway of the kitchen and smiled as he watched Gabriella put the clues together. The clues that Troy had given Gabriella were in the form of alphabetical letters and she had to figure out the message that her husband was trying to tell her.

"Did you get them all?" Troy asked.

"I think. What am I supposed to do now?" Gabriella asked.

"Read the card and find out. I'm not supposed to help you babe" Troy said.

"Trooooy" Gabriella whined.

"Brie, you are almost done" Troy said.

Gabriella read the card and then looked at the letters and tried to figure out the message. Ten minutes later, Gabriella was trying to figure out the last word when she yelled and threw her hands up in the air.

"Done, I think" Gabriella said proudly.

Troy chuckled.

"Let's see" Troy said looking over her shoulder.

Troy looked at the message that read "Let's make a baby tonight" and smiled.

"Did I get it right?" Gabriella asked.

"Do you think that you got it right?" Troy asked.

"Troy, come on. I've been at work all day" Gabriella said.

Troy put his hands on both sides of Gabriella's face.

"Let's make a baby tonight" Troy said sweetly.

Gabriella's face softened.

"Don't do it because I want to" Gabriella said tearfully.

"I'm not. I want to have another baby with you, Gabriella" Troy said lovingly.

Gabriella had tears running down her cheeks.

"Are you sure?" Gabriella whispered.

Troy nodded and smiled.

"We've had time to grieve over the miscarriage and I think that you are in a better place than you were before. I think we are ready" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled tearfully. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"What do you say?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled and kissed her one more time and wiped her tears away. The couple walked into their bedroom and shut the door. Operation: Let's Make A Baby Tonight had commenced.


	3. Superman

Gabriella leaned her head back against the pillows and tried to catch her breath. When Troy had agreed to try for another baby, he made Gabriella promise that it wouldn't get out of hand or borderline obsessive. They limited their baby-making activities to the weekends so that they could sleep in the following day. Troy tried to catch his breath and wrapped his arm around Gabriella's bare waist as she moved her head to lie on his chest.

"I hope that we aren't doing this just to get a negative result" Gabriella said.

Troy furrowed his eyebrows and carefully moved so that he was lying on his stomach with his arms holding his body up. He folded his hands and looked at his wife.

"If we get a negative result, then all we can do is try again. Practice makes perfect right? Don't have doubts" Troy said gently.

"It's just hard not to think about sometimes" Gabriella said.

"I understand sweetheart. Believe me, I do. But you have to have faith that it's going to happen. It may take a while, but it will happen" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled and leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy smoothed Gabriella's sweaty hair back and kissed her forehead. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and smiled as she kissed his lips. Troy rolled them over and Gabriella laughed. Practice made perfect right? That afternoon, Gabriella brought Logan downstairs after his nap. He walked into the kitchen and Troy smiled.

"Hey buddy" Troy said kneeling down to his son's level.

Logan was a lot quieter than Grace was. He definitely got that from Gabriella.

"Daddy" Logan said walking into his father's arms.

"Do you want to help me?" Troy asked.

Logan nodded.

"Okay" Troy said.

Troy brought a chair to the kitchen island and lifted Logan onto it. He had just finished his workout at the gym and was making his protein shake. Troy was still playing for the Red Hawks but it was their off season, which meant a lot of time in the gym working for next season. He put all the ingredients that he wanted into the blender and put the lid onto it.

"Press the button, Logan" Troy said.

Logan pressed the start button and the blender started.

"Good job. Thank you for helping me" Troy said.

Logan smiled.

"Welcome" Logan said.

Troy chuckled. He lifted Logan up and set him on the ground. Gabriella walked into the kitchen and smiled.

"What are you guys doing?" Gabriella asked.

"Logan just helped me make my shake" Troy said pouring the mixture into a cup.

"Oh. How was the gym?" Gabriella asked.

"Fine. Just trying to bulk up" Troy said.

"Are you going to be here for an hour?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" Troy asked.

"I have another appointment with Dr. Brand and wanted you to watch the kids" Gabriella said.

"I can if you want me to. What's this appointment about? Are you not feeling well?" Troy asked.

"She just wanted to do another exam that's all" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck.

"It's not that I don't want you to come, Troy. I just need to do this by myself. I need to face it" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"I didn't ask why. Do whatever makes you comfortable. If you don't want me to go, then I won't until you want me to" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and leaned in and kissed Troy's lips.

"I'll see you in a little while" Gabriella said.

"Alright. Call me if you need me to come down there" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and left the house. Two hours later, Gabriella walked into the house and Troy instantly knew something was up when Gabriella's eyes were red and she was sniffling.

"Baby, you okay?" Troy asked softly.

"What's wrong mommy?" Grace asked.

"Nothing sweetheart. I'm fine" Gabriella said as kneeled down and gave Grace a hug.

Gabriella stood up and walked into the kitchen and Troy followed.

"Gabriella" Troy said.

Gabriella walked to the refrigerator and opened it and grabbed a bottle of water and took a sip. She looked at Troy.

"We have to wait to try again. We have to let my body have a break. Dr. Brand said that we can't try like we have been" Gabriella said.

Troy's face softened and he took Gabriella into his arms. He reached over to the kitchen island, not letting go of Gabriella, and texted his mother and asked if she could watch the kids for the night so he could be with Gabriella. Ten minutes later, Gabriella looked up at her husband.

"You aren't going to say anything?" Gabriella asked quietly.

"I haven't processed it completely" Troy said as the doorbell rang.

"Who's at the door?" Gabriella asked.

"My mom. She's going to take the kids for the night" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She hugged and kissed Grace and Logan and watched them leave with Lucille. Troy closed the door and Gabriella wrapped her arms around him.

"Look at me babe" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy.

"If we need to wait to try again, then we have to wait" Troy said.

"She said we have to wait a year. A year?!" Gabriella said frustrated.

"It's for the best, Brie. We don't want anything to happen to you if we try too soon" Troy said.

"The kids won't be close in age" Gabriella said.

"That shouldn't matter right now. What matters is that we have to wait to try again. End of story" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed.

"I know you are upset about it, baby. But we need to keep you safe and healthy before we think about planning another baby" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Tears ran down her cheeks and she let go of Troy and walked upstairs and went into the bedroom and shut the door. Troy took a deep breath and released it. He wanted to go after Gabriella but he thought it would be best just to give this conversation a rest for a while and let her have some time to think. Troy went into the living room and sat down on the couch and flipped through television channels until he saw a rerun of a Red Hawks game that he had played a while ago on. Two hours later, Gabriella came downstairs in one of Troy's sweatshirts that hit her knees and a pair of leggings. Troy heard footsteps and looked at Gabriella and smiled slightly. Her face was pink and her eyes were bright red. She was also sniffling which told Troy that she had been crying. Troy patted a spot next to him on the couch. Gabriella walked over to the couch and snuggled into her husband's chest. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly.

"You okay?" Troy asked carefully.

Gabriella nodded.

"I know you are upset, Brie. I am too. But, we couldn't have prevented it from happening. We just have to wait a year like Dr. Brand said and then try again and hope for the best" Troy said.

"It just sucks" Gabriella mumbled loud enough for Troy to hear.

"I know it does. But we can't do anything about it. Let your body heal itself" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"You haven't eaten much today. Can I make you something?" Troy asked.

"Okay" Gabriella said quietly.

Troy stood up and held his hands out to Gabriella, who took them gratefully. Troy pulled his wife up to a standing position and placed a kiss on her forehead. The couple walked into the kitchen and Troy lifted Gabriella onto the counter. He opened the refrigerator and smiled when he thought of what to make Gabriella. Troy pulled out a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly and set it on the kitchen island. He closed the refrigerator and started to put together Gabriella's sandwich that he knew would make her feel a little better. Troy grabbed a plate and placed the sandwich onto it and handed it to his wife.

"Thanks Troy" Gabriella said quietly.

Troy smiled and nodded.

"I want to help you feel better and I know it's not much, but it's a start" Troy said.

"You always make me feel better. Don't ever think that you don't. It's just a difficult situation that I didn't think would happen" Gabriella said softly.

Troy smiled.

"I know. Eat your sandwich" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and took a bite out her sandwich. Five minutes later, Gabriella put her plate in the sink and opened her arms. Troy walked closer to the counter and let her wrap her arms around him.

"I love you Gabriella. Even if we have to wait a year, it doesn't change anything" Troy said.

Tears formed in Gabriella's eyes. She tightened her grip on her husband.

"I love you too" Gabriella said trying to not sound like she was about to cry.

Troy rubbed her back in soothing circles.

"If we can't have another baby or if I have another miscarriage, you won't leave right?" Gabriella asked.

Troy's eyes widened and his body stiffened. He pulled away from Gabriella and looked at his wife. Troy took Gabriella's hand and entwined their fingers together.

"Gabriella Bolton, how could you even think that? I. Love. You. If we can't have another baby or you have another miscarriage, then that's what happens. I will never leave you. Not now. Not ever. Do you see this ring on your finger?" Troy asked holding Gabriella's left hand up.

Gabriella nodded slowly.

"This ring signifies my vow to love you through sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as we both shall live. Is this what this all about babe? You think I'm going to leave?" Troy asked softly.

"I just have a lot of things running through my head" Gabriella said.

"That shouldn't be one of them. I will love you until my heart stops beating" Troy said.

Gabriella's lip quivered. Troy took Gabriella into his arms. He kissed Gabriella's head softly.

"I love you too" Gabriella said tearfully.

The rest of the day the couple relaxed around the house and knew that this news was going to be adjustment for their family, but they knew that they would get through it. A couple weeks later, Troy came home from practice and smiled when he saw Logan coming downstairs with Gabriella. He kneeled in front of the first step and smiled. Logan smiled.

"Daddy!" Logan said.

"Hey, how was your nap?" Troy asked as Logan made it into his arms.

"Good. But I don't need them daddy. I'm a big boy" Logan said.

"You are a big boy but you still need them. If you didn't have one every day, you would be crying all the time and would be cranky" Troy said.

Logan shrugged. Troy released him and watched his son walk into the living room. He stood up and smiled at Gabriella.

"Hi" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Hi" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"How were they?" Troy asked referring to their children.

"Crazy as ever. But, I handled it" Gabriella said.

"You still should be resting babe" Troy said.

Troy had made sure that he took care of the house and the kids so that Gabriella could have some peace while she was going through this difficult time.

"I feel better today. I'm not one hundred percent okay. But, I feel like I'm getting better" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"That's good Brie. Any more doctor appointments or are we finally free of those until the kids have their check up?" Troy asked.

"No more. How was practice?" Gabriella asked.

"Good. Ready for the game next week" Troy said.

"Good" Gabriella said.

"Mommy, can you hold me?" Logan asked politely.

Gabriella smiled and kneeled down and opened her arms. Logan walked into them and Gabriella stood up and set him on her hip. Troy smiled.

"You're still my baby right?" Gabriella asked her son.

Logan nodded.

"Don't let anybody tell you different" Logan said innocently.

The couple's eyes widened and Troy tried to hide his laughter.

"That's the last time Chad is ever going to watch them. My three-year-old son is starting to sound like a twenty-two-year-old" Troy said.

"Baby, we don't say that okay. That's a bad word. Where did you hear that word?" Gabriella asked her son.

"Uncle Chad" Logan said.

"You see! Buddy, we don't say that okay?" Troy said.

"Okay daddy" Logan said.

"Alright. Go play" Troy said.

Gabriella put Logan down on the ground and watched him walk away. Troy shook his head.

"I'll kill Chad" Troy said.

"He could have said something worse Troy. At least he said that than something else" Gabriella said.

"True. Why don't you go get in bed and I will start dinner and watch them?" Troy said.

"I want to help" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Dr. Brand didn't say to avoid everything. I still can help out around the house" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella. She was dressed in one of his shirts that hit her knees, a pair of gym shorts that you could only see the seam of because of the long shirt she was wearing, and fuzzy socks. Her hair was in a ponytail that leaned onto one side of her head. Her lack of sleep was evident with the dark circles that lied under eyes. Troy took a deep breath and released it.

"Alright. But only the easy stuff okay?" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella and the couple walked into the kitchen and started making dinner. That night, Gabriella was in bed when Troy came into the bedroom. He had given the kids a bath and put them to bed. Troy took off his shirt and climbed into bed and Gabriella instantly felt his presence and snuggled into his chest. She opened her eyes slowly.

"Go back to sleep baby. I didn't mean to wake you up. I was trying to be quiet" Troy said.

"It's alright. I was waking up anyway" Gabriella said.

"Feeling okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Thank you for taking care of everything while all of this stuff has been going on. I never got to thank you for that" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's cheek softly.

"I am just doing my job. I know this has been hard on you, Brie and I wish that I could make it easier for you. I just want you to be as stress-free as you can be because I know you are thinking and processing everything still. You don't need to be thinking about work and figuring out everything right now. Let me do it for you" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Thank you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"No problem. Go back to sleep okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and leaned in and kissed Troy's lips.

"I love you, Troy" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and smoothed Gabriella's hair back.

"I love you too baby. Sleep well. Wake me up if you need anything okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. The couple went to sleep. The next morning, Gabriella woke up and saw that Troy was no longer in bed. She turned over and looked at the clock that was on the bedside table which read ten o' clock. Gabriella got up and put a sweatshirt on and walked out of the bedroom. She walked to the end of the hall and looked into Grace's room and saw that she was not in her room. Gabriella looked into Logan's room and saw that he, too was not in his room. She walked downstairs and smiled when she saw Grace and Logan watching a movie and Troy was on his laptop, working on his homework. Gabriella wrapped her arms Troy's neck and kissed his cheek.

"How's the homework going?" Gabriella asked.

"Fine. Just trying to finish these reports and submit them before I have to go to the shop" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She was so proud of Troy. He had not only been doing so well in school, but he was going to be able to graduate earlier than expected.

"I'm so proud of you. You know that right?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled and nodded. He pulled Gabriella onto his lap and kissed her lips.

"Without you and the kids, I wouldn't be working as hard as I am to finish school" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"That's how I felt when I was in school" Gabriella said.

"I have an appointment with my advisor today to figure out where I'm at and how many more classes that I need to take before graduation" Troy said.

"After work?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"I got an early shift. I'll be home before you put them down" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"You don't have practice today?" Gabriella asked.

"I had an early workout" Troy said.

"When?" Gabriella asked.

"Five. You were in a deep sleep and I didn't want to wake you up" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. Whenever Troy had to work, go to school, or have an early morning practice, he always made sure that he got ready quietly so he wouldn't wake Gabriella or the kids up.

"So what time is your shift superman?" Gabriella joked.

Troy chuckled.

"Ten to two. I better start getting ready" Troy said.

Gabriella kissed Troy's lips passionately. Troy pulled away and moved a stray hair away from Gabriella's face.

"What was that for?" Troy asked.

"For being you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I would totally take you back to bed but I need to go to the shop" Troy mumbled.

Gabriella smiled and giggled.

"You wouldn't be able to do anything anyway. No sex for a year" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He submitted his assignments and looked at Gabriella.

"I got to get going" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Gabriella got off Troy's lap and kissed his lips.

"Grace and Logan, daddy has to leave. Give him a kiss" Gabriella said.

Grace and Logan kissed their father and Troy left the house. Around three o'clock, Troy arrived at U of A for his appointment with his advisor. He was sitting in the waiting area when his advisor, John, came brought him to his office.

"How's it going Troy?" John asked as the two men sat down.

"Good. A little stressful with the kids and work but I am managing" Troy said.

"What can I do for you today?" John asked.

"I want to see where I'm at as far as graduation. How long I have and what classes I still have to take" Troy said.

John nodded. He started typing information into his computer and turned the screen toward Troy.

"There's the units that you have completed and there is your GPA. You are doing well, Troy" John said.

Troy looked at the screen and nodded, taking in all the information that he was learning.

"How long do you think until I can graduate?" Troy asked.

"If you work hard and pass everything, I think by spring you will be able to graduate" John said.

Troy nodded.

"Thanks John" Troy said.

"No problem. How's the season going?" John asked.

"Crazy. I have been going from early practices to school then to work and get home around ten. But it's worth it" Troy said.

John nodded.

"Good luck Troy" John said.

"Thank you" Troy said shaking his advisor's hand.

Troy left the office and went to his classes for the day. Troy and Gabriella knew that life would be crazy with two little kids but they didn't know how crazy it could get.


	4. A Weekend of Love

A couple months later, Troy tying his tie and looked in the mirror. Today he was going to graduate from college. Gabriella was so proud of her husband. Troy's schedule was difficult for the couple at times, but they got through it. He was pulled out of this thoughts when Logan came into the room.

"Daddy, can you tie this?" Logan asked holding his tie.

"Yeah, come here" Troy said kneeling down to his son's level.

Troy tied Logan's tie and then stood up and looked at his son.

"You look very handsome buddy. Is mommy and Grace ready?" Troy asked.

Logan shrugged.

"Let's go see" Troy said.

The two boys walked out of the bedroom and went into Grace's room and saw Gabriella doing Grace's hair.

"Are you ladies almost ready?" Troy asked.

"In a minute" Gabriella said.

Gabriella finished Grace's hair and smiled at her work.

"Alright, let's go get in the car" Gabriella said.

The two girls walked downstairs and Troy smiled.

"You look so pretty sweetheart" Troy said.

Grace smiled shyly.

"Thank you daddy. Your hat is funny" Grace said looking at Troy's cap on his head.

"Yeah, it's pretty silly right?" Troy said.

Grace nodded. The little family got into the car and started driving to U of A. Troy's parents and Maria were going to meet them there. Once they arrived, Troy went with the other graduates and Gabriella and the kids found their seats and family members. A couple minutes later, the ceremony started and the president of the university started giving out the diplomas.

"Troy Alexander Bolton" the president of the university said.

Both of the families cheered for Troy. The ceremony continued. The president of the university went up to the podium and smiled.

"Every year we choose a student that has excelled not only educationally, but socially among other attributes to speak. This year, we have chosen a young man's story that has not only inspired me, but also his professors and mentors of University of Albuquerque. On behalf of this university, I would like to welcome Troy Bolton" the president of the university said.

Gabriella's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She looked at their families and saw the same expression. They all turned back to the ceremony. Troy walked onto the stage and shook the president's hand and stood at the podium for a moment.

"Good evening graduating class, professors, parents, and families, when I first came to U of A I knew that my time here would be spent well. I was motivated to succeed and start my career. But that motivation didn't come just from within myself to do well here. It came from my wife, Gabriella and two children, Grace and Logan. When I was seventeen years old, Gabriella found out she was pregnant. As a teenage boy, you could probably imagine my reaction. I made a choice to stand by her and support her through the pregnancy and made a promise that she would never go through this alone. After she gave birth to our first child, she started school at U of A, while I worked at a friend's auto shop helping to make ends meet. Soon after our second child was born, she graduated with honors like I knew that she would and I then started school. Some days are harder than others and there are some days where I want to be a twenty-two-year-old. But when I walk in the front door and see my daughter holding her blanket and a book she wants me to help her read, that is the sole thing that makes me want to do better. It's not about me anymore, it's about wife and my children. They were my motivation to get through school and I honestly will thank them for that for the rest of my life. Congratulations to the graduating class of 2035. We did it!" Troy said.

Gabriella's body was shaking as she cried. She had never heard Troy talk so beautifully in her entire life. Maria and Lucille soothed her and rubbed her back as they too cried. The ceremony ended shortly after and the families went to go find Troy. Gabriella spotted him and Troy saw her. Gabriella ran into her husband's arms and he spun her around. Gabriella cried into his chest as Troy cried himself. She pulled away and leaned in and kissed his lips.

"That was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard you say, Troy" Gabriella said.

"It's the complete truth. You are my motivation, Brie. I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for you" Troy said.

"Daddy, why are you crying?" Grace asked.

Troy lifted Grace onto his hip and kissed her cheek.

"I'm happy, Grace. That's why I'm crying" Troy said.

The families took pictures with Troy and went out to dinner. Later that night, the couple carried their two sleeping children into the house and put them in bed. They then met back in their bedroom. Troy took off his cap and gown. He then loosened his tie and took his shirt off.

"So what are you going to do now, graduate?" Gabriella asked as she snuggled into the sheets.

Troy smiled.

"I have some things in mind. But, they have to wait a year" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled sadly. Troy climbed into bed and Gabriella snuggled into his chest.

"It will go by fast hopefully" Gabriella said.

"Hopefully" Troy said.

The couple went to bed. A couple weeks later, Troy came home from work and smiled when he saw Gabriella carrying Logan and Grace following behind her.

"Hey guys" Troy said.

"Daddy!" Grace said jumping into her father's arms.

"Hey, what did you guys do today?" Troy asked.

"Played. We're going to mama and papa's house" Grace said.

"Oh yeah? That sounds fun" Troy said.

"They are going to spend the weekend with mama and papa" Gabriella said.

"The entire weekend?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"You guys are going to have so much fun" Troy said.

"Say goodbye to daddy" Gabriella said.

Grace kissed Troy's lips sweetly.

"Bye baby. Have fun" Troy said.

Gabriella leaned over so Logan could say goodbye to his father. She and the kids then left the house. A half an hour later, Gabriella walked into the house. Troy was sitting in the living room.

"So why do we have the house all to ourselves this weekend?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled and put her keys on the counter.

"Can't I have a romantic weekend with my husband who just graduated from college?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled.

"You can. But, it's not a big thing babe. You don't need to-" Troy started but was interrupted by Gabriella's finger being put on his lips.

"It's a big thing, Troy. We worked so hard to get to where we are. We've worked numerous jobs and crazy hours. Now that we graduated, we can start our careers at the same time. It's almost like I didn't get pregnant and Grace and Logan magically appeared" Gabriella said.

"But this doesn't change anything, Brie. It did happen and we deserve to celebrate that but to me, we did everything backwards" Troy said.

"It still needs to be celebrated" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella and offered her his lap. Gabriella looked at Troy.

"We can't _do_ anything" Troy said.

"I know. But, we can go out or stay in bed all day. Just as long as we are together. Come on baby" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and nodded.

"It does sound nice" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and leaned in and kissed Troy's lips softly. Troy smiled into the kiss and pulled away slowly.

"So adventure lady, what's first on your list?" Troy asked.

"Hmm…" Gabriella said putting a finger to her chin.

Troy shook his head.

"I got it! Let's go" Gabriella said taking Troy's hand and entwining their fingers together.

"Where are we going?" Troy asked as they walked out of the house.

"It wouldn't be your adventure if you knew where we were going" Gabriella said.

The couple got into the car and started driving. Gabriella pulled into the East High parking lot and parked the car.

"East High?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Come on" Gabriella said.

The couple got out of the car and entwined their fingers instantly. They walked into the school that they once attended.

"Where to?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled. She guided Troy to the stairs and they walked up them to the rooftop. Gabriella opened the door and the couple went out to the roof. Troy smiled when he saw the rooftop garden that had given the couple so many memories. Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella and kissed her lips softly.

"This was our spot and it will always be" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and nodded.

"This became your thinking place when you were pregnant with Grace" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"My safe haven" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I love you" Troy said sincerely.

Gabriella smiled.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"Where to next?" Troy asked.

Gabriella pulled Troy's hand and the couple went downstairs and went to the gym. The couple walked into the gym and Troy smiled.

"Our first kiss was right here" Gabriella said as they walked onto the basketball court.

"Our almost first kiss. Chad ruined it" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled.

"I remember when mom made dad pull me out of a game and take you to the hospital because you were having pain" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and wrapped her free arm around Troy's.

"I remember that" Gabriella said.

"I remember getting in a huge fight with you because you came to watch practice and I didn't want you to" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"A lot of stuff happened in here when you were pregnant" Troy said.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled. Gabriella smiled and leaned in and kissed his lips. Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks as Troy pulled away.

"No baby. Don't cry" Troy said softly.

"I'm not sad. I am just thinking about how much we went through during that whole time" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Where's the next stop?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled.

"Home" Gabriella said.

"Home? We're done?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"For now" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

The couple left East High and drove home. They walked into the house and went into the living room.

"What's next on your list?" Troy asked.

"Nap" Gabriella said.

"What? No. It was starting to be fun" Troy said.

"Maybe after a nap we can continue" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella started walking toward the stairs.

"You coming?" Gabriella asked.

"In a minute. Go on up babe" Troy said.

Once Gabriella was upstairs, Troy went into the kitchen and opened a cabinet and pulled out a box. He had been waiting to give it to Gabriella because he wanted the timing to be right. Troy's T necklace that he had given Gabriella had broken a while ago and he knew that Gabriella was upset when it did. A couple weeks ago, he found one and had their anniversary date engraved on the back. Troy knew that Gabriella would love it and that now would be the perfect time to give it to her. He opened the box and smiled. Troy closed it and walked upstairs to the bedroom. Gabriella had just lied down when Troy walked in.

"I have a surprise for you" Troy said.

"What is it?" Gabriella asked looking at her husband curiously.

Troy handed Gabriella the box and she looked at him skeptically.

"Babe, what is this?" Gabriella asked.

"Open it and see what it is before you ask anything else" Troy said.

Gabriella opened the box and gasped. Tears filled her eyes and she looked up at Troy.

"Troy" Gabriella started.

"When it broke, I knew that you were upset about it. So a couple weeks ago I found another one that was more kid-friendly. I know how much it means to you and to me as well. Do you like it?" Troy asked.

"I love it" Gabriella said.

"Look on the back" Troy said.

Gabriella turned the necklace over and smiled. Tears ran down her cheeks.

"It's beautiful. Thank you baby" Gabriella said as she kissed his lips.

"No problem" Troy said.

"Can you put it on me?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah" Troy said.

Gabriella held out the necklace and Troy clasped it together and let it hang on her neck. She looked down and brushed her hand over it.

"That was so sweet" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Since you planned this romantic weekend, I thought I would pull a surprise of my own" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Thank you baby" Gabriella said.

The rest of the day, the couple relaxed around the house. The next morning, Troy woke up and smiled when he saw Gabriella still sleeping. He kissed her cheek softly and got up and walked downstairs. Troy walked into the kitchen and started making coffee. He looked at the refrigerator that was covered in pictures that Grace and Logan had made the couple and smiled. Troy looked at the side of the refrigerator and smiled when he saw the calendar hanging with black x's on every day until the present. Gabriella had been counting the days until their year of no sex was over. He didn't hear Gabriella come downstairs and jumped when he heard her voice.

"What are you doing?" Gabriella asked.

"Just crossing off another day on your calendar" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and leaned over and kissed Troy's cheek.

"What are we doing today?" Troy asked.

"I don't know" Gabriella said.

"You, Gabriella Montez-Bolton, planned this whole weekend for the two of us and you ran out of ideas?" Troy asked jokingly.

Gabriella giggled.

"We can go back to bed" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"Good morning" Troy said softly.

"Good morning" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips again.

"Troy" Gabriella said softly.

"Shh…" Troy said lovingly.

Troy lifted Gabriella into his arms. Gabriella kissed Troy's lips and pulled back.

"Babe" Gabriella said.

"Trust me, Brie" Troy said.

"Fine" Gabriella said.

Troy carried Gabriella upstairs and shut the door with his foot. The couple couldn't wait until everything could go back to normal.


	5. Sleep On It

A year later, not much had changed. The couple had followed their "no sex" rule and had been counting the days until they could. One day, Gabriella was waiting for Troy to meet her at Dr. Brand's so that they could find out if everything looked okay. There was a knock on the door and Troy poked his head into the room and smiled.

"Hey, did I miss anything?" Troy asked.

"No. You are right on time" Gabriella said kissing Troy's lips.

"Good" Troy said.

Troy had quit working at the auto shop and had gotten a job for a big company as an accountant. Gabriella was so proud of him.

"How was work?" Gabriella asked.

"Clients were going crazy over tax returns. Tax season is nice and all, but clients just call and ask stupid questions" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came into the room.

"Hi guys. I am assuming you are here so that I can give you an all-clear for sexual activity" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Were you counting the days?" Dr. Brand asked.

"Yeah. We wanted to have another baby close in age with Grace and Logan" Gabriella said.

"I see. Let me check you out and we will take it from there okay?" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded and lied back on the exam table. Dr. Brand washed her hands and put on a fresh pair of gloves. She turned on the ultrasound and waited for it to heat up. Once it heated, Dr. Brand took a wand and squeezed some gel onto Gabriella's stomach. She moved the gel around with the wand and looked at the screen.

"It looks clear. I don't see any problems internally. But, let me examine you just to be sure" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded. Dr. Brand wiped the gel off of Gabriella's stomach. Gabriella spread her legs apart and Troy took Gabriella's hand.

"Take a deep breath for me, Gabi" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and Dr. Brand started her exam. Troy smoothed Gabriella's hair back and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Just breathe baby" Troy said.

Gabriella took deep breaths as Dr. Brand examined her. A couple moments later, Dr. Brand looked up and smiled.

"Your exam looks good. Everything looks normal. There is no inflammation. I think I can give you the all-clear to start trying again if you still want to" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella smiled and nodded. The couple left the office happily. They couldn't wait to start trying to add another member to their family. A couple weeks later, Gabriella was driving Troy to the airport. He had signed with a team in California.

"When will you be home?" Gabriella asked.

"Four days. I'll call every night to say good night to them" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"When you get home, we start trying" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella pulled into the parking lot of the airport and parked the car. The couple got out of the car and helped both Grace and Logan get out. The little family walked into the airport.

"Alright, I have to go check in" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"I'll call you when I get there" Troy said.

"Okay. I love you Troy" Gabriella said.

"I love you too Brie" Troy said.

Troy kneeled down and Grace ran into his arms.

"Be good for mommy okay?" Troy said.

Grace nodded. Troy kissed Grace's cheek.

"I love you Grace" Troy said.

"I love you too daddy" Grace said.

Troy smiled. He turned to Logan.

"Bye buddy. Take care of the girls for me okay?" Troy said.

"Okay daddy" Logan said.

Troy opened his arms and Logan walked into them and hugged his father.

"Okay. I need to get going. I'll call you when I land" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy walked into the line to check in his bag, when he heard Grace cry for him. He looked over and smiled slightly. Troy kneeled down and Grace ran into his arms.

"Baby, don't cry. I'll be back before you know it" Troy said.

"I don't want you to go" Grace cried.

"I know you don't Grace. But daddy has to go to work" Troy said.

"I'll miss you" Grace said.

"I'll miss you too sweetheart. So much. I'll call you every day. I promise" Troy said.

"Pinky promise?" Grace asked.

Grace had a knew thing of making everyone pinky promise when they told her something.

"I _double_ pinky promise" Troy said raising his eyebrow.

Grace smiled.

"Alright honey, you need to go with mommy okay?" Troy said.

"Okay" Grace said.

"Give me a kiss" Troy said.

Grace kissed her father's lips.

"I'll call you later, Grace" Troy said.

Grace nodded and walked back to Gabriella. Troy looked at Gabriella and winked at her. She blushed. Troy smiled. Still after all these years, he knew how to make her blush. Troy was called to check in his bags. He checked them in and left to find his gate. A couple hours later, Gabriella had just given both Grace and Logan a bath. They walked downstairs when the phone rang. Gabriella picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Gabriella answered.

"Hi baby" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"You landed?" Gabriella confirmed.

"Yeah. I just got to the hotel. How are you and the kids holding up?" Troy asked.

"They are okay. Grace I think is still kind of upset, but Logan doesn't have a clue" Gabriella said.

"Alright. What are you guys doing?" Troy asked.

"I just gave them a bath and I was going to find a movie to watch. What are you doing?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm going to take a shower and get in bed. I have an early practice tomorrow" Troy said.

"Oh. Do you want to talk to them?" Gabriella asked looking at her children, who were trying to find a movie to watch.

"Sure" Troy said.

Gabriella held the phone to her chest.

"Grace, daddy is on the phone" Gabriella said.

Grace's face lit up. She held out her hand. Gabriella gave Grace the phone and smiled.

"Daddy!" Grace said.

"Hey Grace, how are you sweetheart?" Troy asked.

"When are you coming home?" Grace asked.

Troy smiled.

"In a couple days. Remember what I told you?" Troy asked.

"That you will call every day" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"Yeah. Every day. I promise. What were you guys doing?" Troy asked.

"Going to watch a movie" Grace said.

"Okay baby. I'll call you tomorrow okay?" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

"I love you Grace" Troy said.

"I love you too daddy" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"Alright, can you give the phone to mommy please?' Troy asked.

"Yeah" Grace said.

A couple moments later, Gabriella's voice filled the phone.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm here. Is Logan okay?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, he's okay. He's still kind of confused what happened and where you are" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

"I'll let you go" Gabriella said.

"Alright. I love you and I miss you" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"You haven't even been gone a day. But, I love you and I miss you too. Maybe I'll have Grace sleep on your side of the bed tonight" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled into the phone.

"Whatever makes you guys feel better, do it" Troy said.

"Bye Troy" Gabriella said.

"Bye baby" Troy said.

The couple hung up. Later that night, Gabriella had put Logan to bed and she had told Grace that she could sleep in her and Troy's bed tonight. Grace and Gabriella walked into the bedroom. Grace climbed into the bed and Gabriella sat on the edge.

"Good night Grace. I love you" Gabriella said kissing her daughter's head.

"I miss daddy" Grace said.

"I know you do honey. But he will be home in a couple days" Gabriella said.

Tears ran down Grace's cheeks. Gabriella climbed into bed and Grace snuggled into her mother's chest.

"It's okay baby. Don't cry" Gabriella said as she rubbed her daughter's back.

Grace cried herself to sleep that night. The next morning, Gabriella was at work when the phone rang.

"Hello?" Gabriella answered.

"Hey honey, how's it going?" Troy asked.

"Grace slept in our bed and cried herself to sleep last night" Gabriella said.

"Poor baby. I feel horrible" Troy said.

"You can't do anything about it, babe. If you were going to leave for work, with Chad, or for something it would have been the same situation" Gabriella said.

"I know. I just wish I could make it easier for her. She understands what's going on. Logan doesn't" Troy said.

Yeah, but she will be okay. I'm going to take her to see mom later, hopefully that makes her feel a little better. If she just sees a part of you maybe it will make her happy" Gabriella said.

"Yeah" Troy said.

"How was your early morning practice?" Gabriella asked.

"Rough. I am still getting used to this team. Red Hawks were a lot different" Troy said.

"Red Hawks were college basketball and these people are the real deal. You made it to the NBA babe" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Luckily, these guys have families and kids so everyone gets where the other person is coming from" Troy said.

"That's good right? Red Hawks kicked your butt and didn't let you have important days off" Gabriella said.

"Yeah. So that's a good thing. Hey baby, I have to get going okay? I'll call you tonight" Troy said.

"Okay. I love you Troy" Gabriella said.

"I love you too Brie. Give a kiss to the kids for me" Troy said.

"I will" Gabriella said.

Gabriella hung up the phone and went back to work. A couple hours later, Gabriella had picked the kids up from Maria's and drove to the Bolton home.

"Mommy, is daddy home yet?" Logan asked.

"Not yet buddy. You still have a couple days. We're going to see mama and papa" Gabriella said.

"Yay!" Grace and Logan said.

Gabriella smiled. She pulled into the driveway and parked her car. Gabriella got out of the car and helped Grace and Logan get out. They walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. Lucille opened the door and smiled.

"Hi guys" Lucille said.

"Mama, daddy is gone" Grace said.

"He will be back soon" Lucille said as they all walked into the house.

"What are you guys up to today?" Gabriella asked.

"Just hanging out honey. What are you guys doing today?" Lucille asked.

"The same. I was wondering if you wanted to take Grace for the night. She's been having a hard time with Troy being gone and I think someone that reminds her of him will help her relax" Gabriella said.

"Of course. When is he coming home?" Lucille asked.

"Three days" Gabriella said.

"If you want, I can keep her until he comes home and you can focus on Logan" Lucille suggested.

"Are you sure, mom? I don't want to put all of that on you and dad" Gabriella said.

"She's our granddaughter that misses her daddy. If she needs to be somewhere that reminds her of Troy, I would be happy to take her" Lucille said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Thank you. I know that Troy was worried about her too and he would appreciate it so much" Gabriella said.

"Grace, come here honey" Lucille said.

Grace walked over to the adults. Lucille lifted her granddaughter onto her lap.

"Do you want to stay with papa and I until your daddy comes home?" Lucille asked.

Grace nodded. Gabriella smiled.

"I will have daddy come and pick you up when he gets home okay? I'll call you every night to say good night" Gabriella said.

"Okay mommy" Grace said.

"Give me a kiss" Gabriella said.

Grace kissed her mother's lips.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too" Grace said.

Gabriella and Logan said goodbye to the Boltons and Grace and left the house. Three days later, Troy flew back to Albuquerque.

"Hello?" Troy called as he walked into the house.

"Daddy!" Logan said running into his father's arms.

"Hey Logan, where's your sister?" Troy asked.

"With mama" Logan said.

"She's at mama and papa's house?" Troy asked as he caught his son in his arms.

"Yeah" Logan said.

"Come on, let's go find mommy" Troy said.

Troy and Logan walked into the living room.

"I told Grace you would pick her up at your mom's when you got back" Gabriella said.

"Okay. I forgot she was there" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and walked over to her husband.

"Welcome home baby" Gabriella said kissing her husband's lips.

"I missed you" Troy said as he hugged Gabriella.

"I missed you too. Go pick up Grace. She's waiting for you" Gabriella said.

"Did you tell her that I would be picking her up?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'll be back in a little bit" Troy said.

Troy left the house and started driving to his parents' house. Grace was a total daddy's girl and Troy loved that about her. Troy arrived at his parents house and parked his car. He got out of the car and walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. Lucille opened the door and smiled.

"Welcome home" Lucille said.

"Thanks mama. Where's my baby?" Troy asked.

"She's watching a movie" Lucille said.

Troy and Lucille walked into the house and went into the living room. Grace heard footsteps and saw her father come into the room. Troy kneeled down and opened his arms. Grace ran into Troy's arms and started crying.

"Hi baby" Troy said lifting Grace into his arms.

"Daddy" Grace cried wrapping her arms and legs around her father.

"I'm home. Don't cry" Troy said rubbing his daughter's back.

Grace continued to cry. Troy smiled and kissed her head softly. He walked to the couch and sat down with Grace.

"Did you miss me? Is that why you are crying?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"Don't leave anymore" Grace cried.

Troy smiled and swayed side to side and kissed Grace's head.

"I won't for a while. Did you have fun with mama and papa?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Grace said.

"She drew a picture for you" Lucille said handing Troy the picture.

Troy looked at the picture and smiled. Grace had drawn what Troy thought to be himself and Grace with a caption "I love daddy" on it. Troy smiled.

"You made this for me?" Troy asked looking at Grace.

Grace nodded.

"I love it. Thank you" Troy said.

"There's you and there's me" Grace said pointing to each figure.

"I'm going to hang it up at home" Troy said.

"Okay" Grace said.

"You ready to go see mommy?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Grace said.

"Alright. Go give mama and papa a hug and a kiss and we will go" Troy said.

Grace got up and walked over to Lucille and gave a hug and a kiss. She then walked upstairs to say goodbye to Jack. A couple moments later, Jack and Grace came downstairs.

"How did it go?" Jack asked.

"Fine. We were just about to head home. Thank you for taking her" Troy said.

"It was our pleasure. If Gabi needs a break, tell her to call and we will take her" Jack said.

Troy nodded. Troy and Grace left the house and drove home. Troy unlocked the front door and let Grace walk in first. Gabriella smiled when she saw Grace walk into the house.

"Hi baby girl. Did you have fun?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah" Grace said.

"She drew a picture of her and I" Troy said handing Gabriella the picture.

Gabriella looked at the picture and smiled.

"I love it. Are you happy that daddy is home?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded. Troy sat down on the couch and Grace sat next to him and snuggled into his chest. Gabriella looked at the clock.

"Baby, it's bed time" Gabriella said.

"Come on, I want to see you brush your teeth" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. The couple and Grace walked upstairs. Gabriella helped Grace change into her pajamas and the walked to the bathroom.

"Alright, show me" Troy said.

Grace brushed her teeth and rinsed her mouth. She looked at her father and smiled.

"Good job" Troy said.

Grace held her arms out.

"Do you want daddy to carry you?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded. Troy lifted Grace into his arms. Grace leaned her head against Troy's shoulder. Troy and Gabriella walked into Grace's room. Troy carefully placed Grace into her bed and put her blankets over her.

"Good night Grace. I love you" Troy said kissing his daughter's head.

"I love you daddy" Grace said.

Troy smiled. Gabriella did the same. The couple walked out of the room and went into their bedroom.

"So, now that you have the all-clear, what do you want to do?" Troy asked.

"Do you still want to try?" Gabriella asked.

"I want to hear it from you, Brie. What do _you_ want to do?" Troy asked.

"I want to. But only if you want to also" Gabriella said.

"I want to. I just have been thinking about the season and how I may not be home all the time. I don't want you to feel like you are doing this alone" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I don't want you to be pregnant and alone with Grace and Logan" Troy continued.

Gabriella nodded.

"So what are you saying?" Gabriella asked.

"Maybe we need to think this thoroughly and really see what we are getting ourselves into" Troy said.

"Don't you have your schedule?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, but that's beside the point right now, sweetheart. We need to figure out if we really want this and if you are willing to do it in the case that I'm away" Troy said taking her hand in his own.

Gabriella swallowed hard.

"I'm not saying that I don't want to, Brie. You know that I do. We just have another factor to think about here" Troy said.

"You are going to let your career tell us when we can try to have a baby?" Gabriella asked.

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I am saying that maybe we need to think about this. Maybe tomorrow we can figure this out. Sleep on it and see how you feel tomorrow. Is that okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella sighed and nodded. Troy smiled slightly.

"Just sleep on it" Troy said.

The couple went to bed that night and thought hard about their decision to try for another baby. They hoped that they could both come to an agreement on something.


	6. My Heart Beats For Love

The next morning, Gabriella woke up early and went downstairs. She went into the kitchen and started the coffee maker. Gabriella had tossed and turned all night, thinking about what Troy had said. She knew that he was right about the fact that they should think about if she could handle being home alone with two toddlers and being pregnant. Gabriella was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps and saw Troy come into the kitchen.

"Morning" Troy said.

"Morning" Gabriella said.

"Why are you up so early?" Troy asked.

"I couldn't sleep" Gabriella said taking out two mugs from the cabinet and pouring coffee into both of them.

"Is it because of what I said last night?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm sorry if I upset you, Brie. I'm just trying to be practical" Troy said gently.

"We had been counting the days until I could get the all-clear and once I did, you said what you said. It hurts, Troy. I know that we need to think about it and I am not blaming you for wanting to. I just think the way you said it and explained it was very hurtful" Gabriella said handing Troy a mug.

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. It wasn't my intention to. I am just trying to look out for you. What you said about my career determining when we could have a baby, really hurt. I would never put my career before you or the family. Haven't I proved that you are more important than that?" Troy asked.

"You just joined that team. I felt like you were trying to "schedule" when we could have a baby. You were talking about your career being another factor in this decision. You have proved that we are more important. But, by you saying that, it started to make me think that we weren't" Gabriella explained.

Troy nodded.

"I didn't mean to make you feel that way if I did. I just want us to do this right. We did it right with Logan and I want to continue the pattern" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I want to have another baby with you. The timing just has to be right" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"It doesn't mean that we can't practice" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled. Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella's waist.

"I love you so much. I'm just looking out for you and for us" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"Are you still mad at me?" Troy asked.

"No" Gabriella said.

"You sure?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm a little annoyed that you waited until I got the all-clear to tell me this, but it's fine" Gabriella said.

"Last night we both said that we needed to sleep on it and see how we feel today. I thought about it more and that is what I came up with" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I have to get ready for work" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella walked upstairs and got ready for work and left the house. That night, Gabriella came home later than she usually did. She was trying to avoid the conversation that she and Troy had had earlier.

"Mommy" Logan said as Gabriella came in the door.

"Hey buddy" Gabriella said lifting her son onto her hip.

Gabriella walked passed Troy and didn't say a word. Troy took a deep breath and released it. He stood up and walked into the kitchen.

"I'm going to Chad's. I'll be back in a little while" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said simply.

Troy drove to Chad's and parked his car. He walked to the backyard and saw Chad shooting hoops. Chad turned to Troy and smiled.

"Hey" Chad said shaking Troy's hand.

"I need advice" Troy said.

"About what?" Chad asked.

"Gabriella" Troy said.

"What's going on?" Chad asked.

Troy explained the story to Chad. Chad nodded and shot a basket.

"I would honestly just try and give her some space. You and I both know that when she is ready to talk, she will. You just have to let her have some space. It may be a day or two" Chad said.

"She won't even talk to me except for one word answers" Troy said.

"She's hurt. You both talked about having another baby and then when she got cleared, you changed your mind" Chad said.

"I didn't change my mind. I just wanted to have the timing be right. Can you imagine if Gabriella got pregnant and I be at a game that is in a different state and something go wrong? I would never forgive myself. I want to be here when she is pregnant. I made a promise to her when she was pregnant with Grace that I would always be there for her and that I wouldn't leave her. If we try and she gets pregnant, I may be in the middle of the season. I don't want that to happen. Is that selfish?" Troy asked.

"Did you explain that piece to her?" Chad asked.

"I didn't get to. She and I argued and then she had to leave for work" Troy said.

"Maybe you both need to sit down and you need to tell her what you told me. She will understand your reasoning, Troy. In my opinion, I think that you are making a mature decision. You know your schedule and you don't want to do this and put stress on Gabriella by leaving when you have a game. You need to explain it to her" Chad said.

Troy nodded.

'So should I talk to her or give her space?" Troy asked.

"Maybe before you go to bed tonight, see if she's still upset. If she is, give her space. If she's not, then talk to her" Chad said.

Troy nodded.

"Thanks man" Troy said.

"No problem. Go see what the situation is like at home. Tell Gabi I said hello when you talk to her" Chad said.

"I will" Troy said.

Troy left Chad's and drove home. He walked into the house and didn't hear the kids. Troy walked into the living room and saw that Grace was sitting on the couch and looking through a book.

"You are supposed to be in bed" Troy said.

Grace looked at her father and smiled.

"I couldn't sleep daddy" Grace said.

"Why not?" Troy asked.

"Mommy was upset and I got scared' Grace said.

"Did you or Logan get in trouble?" Troy asked.

"No. After she said goodnight" Grace said.

Troy nodded.

"There's nothing to be scared of, baby girl. Come on. Let's get you in bed" Troy said.

Troy opened his arms and Grace walked into them. Troy lifted Grace into his arms and walked upstairs. He walked into Grace's room and placed her in her bed. Troy tucked Grace into her bed and kissed her forehead.

"Good night, Grace. I love you" Troy said.

"Good night daddy" Grace said.

Troy walked out of his daughter's bedroom and went into the master bedroom. Gabriella was sitting up in bed.

"Grace was downstairs" Troy said.

"She was?' Gabriella asked.

"Yes. She said that you were upset and she got scared" Troy said.

"I didn't mean to scare her. I was upset" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"At me" Troy concluded.

Gabriella looked down and nodded.

"Can we talk about this?" Troy asked.

"I don't want to fight" Gabriella said.

"I don't either. I want to talk about it" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Brie, I didn't change my mind about having another baby if that's what you are thinking. I just want to time it right. If you got pregnant during the season and I had an away game in a different state and something happened to you or the baby, I would never forgive myself for not being here. I want to be here with you. That's why I don't want to try right now. It's not because I don't want to. I know my schedule and I know that I will be away a lot in the next few months. Leaving you here, even with my mom and yours, wouldn't feel right. That's how I feel about it" Troy said.

"I didn't think of it that way" Gabriella said quietly.

"Babe, I would make a baby right here and right now with you if I could. But I know that it wouldn't be right. I love you and I would never try to hurt you in the way that you think that I was. I want the timing to be right and for me to be home. It may be later than we planned, but at least you won't be alone" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm sorry about earlier" Gabriella said.

Troy's face softened.

"I just want you to understand where I am coming from, sweetheart. It was never my intention to hurt you" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Can we move past this?" Troy asked.

"Come here" Gabriella said.

Troy sat on their bed. Gabriella leaned over and kissed Troy's lips.

"I'm sorry for pushing it" Gabriella said.

"It's alright baby. We just need to be on the same page with this. I want to do this right this time" Troy said.

"I do too" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly. He moved a stray hair behind Gabriella's ear.

"I'm going to take a shower and then I'll come to bed" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy picked out a pair of basketball shorts and boxers and went into the bathroom and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom and got into bed. Gabriella snuggled into Troy's chest. A couple weeks later, Troy came home from practice and walked into the kitchen and saw Grace with tears in her eyes, sitting on the kitchen counter as Gabriella placed a Band-Aid on her knee.

"What happened baby?" Troy asked.

"She was running down the last few stairs and face planted on the ground" Gabriella said answering for Grace.

"Grace, you know that you shouldn't be running up or down the stairs. You are going to get hurt" Troy said.

Grace sniffled. Troy opened his arms and Grace held her arms out. He lifted Grace into his arms.

"Does your knee still hurt?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"She hit the ground hard" Gabriella said.

Troy rubbed Grace's knee. Grace wrapped her arms around Troy's neck.

"No more running down the stairs okay?" Troy said.

"Okay daddy" Grace said tearfully.

"Alright. Go sit down on the couch and watch TV" Troy said putting Grace on the ground.

Grace walked into the living room.

"We need to put her in a dance class or something. She has too much energy" Gabriella said.

"She gets that from me. Maybe the gym has one" Troy said.

"I'll call them tomorrow and see. She stays in the house majority of the day" Gabriella said.

"That's because we are working. Mom is working from home. Dad is at school. We just need to get her out of the house for a little while each day" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"When Chad and I go to the gym, I'll bring some brochures" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

A couple days later, Gabriella enrolled Grace into a dance class at the gym that Troy went to. She was helping Grace get ready for her first day of class.

"Alright, go show daddy" Gabriella said.

Grace went downstairs to the kitchen and saw Troy making his pre-workout shake.

"Daddy" Grace said.

Troy turned around and looked at Grace and his heart melted. Grace was dressed in her leotard, tights, and ballet shoes. Her hair was in a high bun. Troy kneeled down to his daughter's level.

"You look so pretty, Grace. Are you ready to go?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"Okay. Let me go get my keys and we will leave" Troy said.

Troy picked up his keys.

"Brie, we are leaving" Troy said.

Gabriella walked downstairs and looked at Grace and smiled.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to go help her?" Gabriella asked.

"I got it under control" Troy said.

"Alright. Have fun" Gabriella said.

"Give mommy a kiss" Troy said.

Gabriella kneeled down and Grace kissed her mother's lips.

"I'll see you in a little bit" Gabriella said.

Troy and Grace left the house and drove to the gym. They walked to where Grace's dance class was being held and Troy walked her into the room. He kneeled down and looked at Grace.

"If you need me, let your teacher know okay? I'll be with Uncle Chad right over there" Troy said pointing to where the weight lifting section of the gym was.

"Okay daddy" Grace said.

"Alright. Love you baby" Troy said.

"Love you" Grace said.

Troy watched the teacher help Grace find her place. He took a deep breath. His baby girl was growing up. Troy made sure that Grace was okay before he left to go find Chad. An hour later, Troy had finished lifting. He and Chad were waiting for Grace to be done with her class and were watching her through the window.

"She's pretty good" Chad said watching his niece dance.

Troy smiled.

"It's in her genes" Troy said.

"Will she meet a Troy in her future?" Chad asked.

Troy looked at his best friend and raised his eyebrow.

"Not for many, many years. She's not going to do what Gabriella and I did. That's for sure" Troy said.

"But it was worth it" Chad said.

"It was. But it was a very stressful situation. I don't regret it in the slightest. I just wish that we had waited. Grace is the one thing that changed me" Troy said.

Chad nodded.

"I love her with all my heart" Troy said.

Chad smiled. The two men continued to watch Grace dance and smiled when she came out of the dance studio and saw them.

"Did you have fun?" Troy asked.

"Yeah. Did you see?" Grace asked.

"I did baby. Did you say hi to Uncle Chad?" Troy asked.

Grace hugged Chad.

"You ready to go home and see mommy and Logan?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. Troy and Grace said goodbye to Chad and drove home. Troy opened the door and Grace walked into the house.

"Troy?" Gabriella called.

"Yeah" Troy said.

Gabriella came into the living room.

"How was it?" Gabriella asked.

"Fun. I want to go tomorrow" Grace said.

Gabriella and Troy smiled.

"You have to wait until next week to go again" Gabriella said.

"Mommy, I want to go" Grace whined.

"Sweetheart, you will go again next week. There is no dance tomorrow" Gabriella said.

"Come on, you need to take a bath" Troy said.

Grace and Troy walked upstairs. Gabriella smiled. She was glad that Grace loved her dance class. An hour later, Troy and Grace came downstairs.

"You are all clean" Gabriella said.

That night, the Bolton family relaxed around the house. A week later, Troy dropped Grace off at ballet and smiled when he saw her eyes light up. He kissed her goodbye and watched her run into the room. Troy then went to go lift weights. An hour later, Troy returned and saw all the parents gathered inside the group exercise room.

"Parents, we would like to show you the routine that we have come up with so far" the teacher said.

All the parents stood against the wall in the room. The teacher turned on the music, and with hints, the little girls did their routine. Troy smiled as he watched Grace dance. Even though it was only her second dance class, he knew that Grace had fallen in love with it. After they finished their dance, all of the girls in the class did their bows and all the parents applauded. Grace smiled when she saw Troy. Troy kneeled down and Grace ran into her father's arms. He stood up with Grace in his arms and spun her around.

"I'm so proud of you baby. You did so good. Mommy is going to be sad that she missed it" Troy said.

"There's a big one later, daddy" Grace said.

"There is?" Troy asked.

"There is a recital in a couple months at the East High auditorium" a parent said overhearing their conversation.

"Oh, that's cool. Come on, let's go tell mommy" Troy said.

Troy drove home and the father-daughter duo walked into the house.

"Mommy!" Grace said excitedly.

Gabriella came into the living room.

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked.

"She's very excited and on a complete adrenaline rush. Tell mommy what happened at dance today" Troy said.

"My class did a show and daddy watched!" Grace exclaimed.

"Her class did a dance to show how much they have learned in the two classes that they have had. I'm glad that I finished lifting when I did or else I would have missed it" Troy said.

"That's amazing Grace. I'm sad that I didn't get to see it" Gabriella said.

"A parent was telling me that they have a recital coming up in a few months" Troy said.

"So then we will get to see what she's been practicing?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"Alright baby, go upstairs and into the bathroom. I'll be up in a minute" Gabriella said.

Grace walked upstairs. Gabriella looked at Troy.

"Did you think that you were going to be the dad that watched little girls do ballet?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled and shook his head.

"Whatever they want to do, I will support them one hundred percent. I'm not going to push anything. I refuse to be like my dad was when I was in high school" Troy said.

"You won't and he has apologized for that" Gabriella said.

"I know. I just am saying that I will support her in whatever she wants to do. If I have to sit in a dance studio in the gym with mothers, I will because I love Grace" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and leaned in and kissed Troy's lips.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too. Now, are you going to give her a bath or am I?" Troy asked.

"Maybe I should. Since I missed her dance today" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Where's Logan?" Troy asked.

"He's in the living room" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

Gabriella walked upstairs to give Grace a bath while Troy walked into the living room and saw Logan watching television. The couple knew that being parents at a young age was going to be hard. But, there were some days that they went to sleep at night with smiles on their faces knowing that they did something right.


	7. Don't Quit On Me Now

The next day, Troy came home and smiled when he saw Grace dancing around in the living room with no music playing. He assumed that she was trying to do the dance that she had learned in her class the previous day. Troy made himself known when Grace took a bow and applauded her performance.

"I liked your dancing" Troy said as he kneeled in front of his daughter.

"Thank you daddy" Grace said.

"Where's mommy?" Troy asked.

"She's upstairs. Logan had an accident" Grace said.

Troy nodded.

"Okay" Troy said.

Troy and Grace heard footsteps coming from the stairs and saw Gabriella and Logan walk into the room.

"Hey buddy" Troy said as Logan jumped into his arms.

"He had an accident. Potty training isn't going as well as I would have hoped" Gabriella said.

"He was doing well though for a while. You have to think of it that way" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I just checked my schedule" Troy started.

Gabriella looked down and folded her hands in her lap. Troy's face softened. He knew that this whole planning when they should start trying again really was hurting Gabriella.

"I checked my schedule and I have two practices back to back and then a game next week" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Hey Logan, go play over there" Troy said pointing to where Grace was.

Logan got up and walked over to where Grace was. Troy looked at Gabriella.

"Brie" Troy said.

"I'm fine" Gabriella said.

"No you aren't. Talk to me" Troy said.

"I just have to get used to it" Gabriella said.

"I promise you, when I am finished with the season, we can go full on baby mode" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly.

"I don't want to make you feel bad. It's just the situation is what is stopping us" Gabriella explained.

Troy nodded.

"I understand and I'm not upset. I am just worried about you" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly.

"Don't worry. I'm okay, Troy" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek softly. Later that night, the couple had put Grace and Logan to bed. Gabriella was in the bathroom taking a bath in the Jacuzzi tub. She just needed some time to herself. There was a knock on the door and Troy poked his head in.

"You okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Yeah, just needed some time to think" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

Troy was about to close the door when he heard Gabriella.

"Troy?" Gabriella called.

"Yeah" Troy said.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I love you too" Troy said.

Troy closed the bathroom door. Gabriella smiled. She knew that this situation was not what she planned, but they were getting through it. An hour later, Gabriella walked out of the bathroom and went into the bedroom and saw Troy in bed. Gabriella climbed into bed and looked at her husband.

"We are going to get passed this right?" Gabriella asked.

"What are you talking about?" Troy asked softly.

"I feel like ever since that argument, we've just been different. I didn't mean to put pressure on you-" Gabriella started.

"Baby, stop" Troy said gently.

Gabriella looked at Troy. He propped his head up with his arm and looked at Gabriella.

"It's something that we both want, but can't have right now. It hurts and it's going to hurt for a while. It may put stress on things, but we are going to get through it. I admit that it's been difficult to deal with and it's hard to watch you deal with it. But life will keep going. You didn't put pressure on me, Brie. We both wanted this and when we sat down and tried to lay out everything, we saw the big picture" Troy said.

Gabriella had tears running down her face. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek and wiped her tears away.

"And just because things aren't the way they used to be, doesn't mean that I don't love you the same as I did. That won't ever change. We have to get through this" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Tears kept coming and Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and rubbed her back.

"I just don't want this situation to get so bad that we end up divorced or separated" Gabriella cried.

"It won't get to that point. We have to work this out and talk to each other" Troy said.

Gabriella sniffled and nodded.

"I love you so much it hurts. You know that" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Get some sleep okay?" Troy said smoothing Gabriella's hair back.

Gabriella nodded. A couple days later, Gabriella came home from work later than usual.

"Mommy" Logan said.

"Hey baby, where's daddy?" Gabriella asked.

"Backyard" Logan said.

Gabriella took her son's hand and they walked to the backyard and saw Troy shooting hoops. She sat down in a chair and lifted Logan onto her lap.

"You're crazy wildcat" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"You're home late" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly and leaned her head against Logan's.

"I had some work that I had to finish at the office" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. The couple had started to try to work through this difficult time but there were some days where they just needed their space.

"Grace is at my mom's" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"She called me and told me" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I told her to call and let you know" Troy said.

"Thanks" Gabriella said.

"No problem" Troy said.

That night, Gabriella gave Logan a bath and put him to bed. She walked downstairs and saw Troy sitting in the living room and watching television. He looked at Gabriella and smiled slightly.

"Hi" Troy said.

"Hi" Gabriella said.

Troy turned off the television and looked at Gabriella.

"You didn't need to turn it off. I was just going to tell you that I was going to go to bed" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded and leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"Good night. I love you" Troy said.

"Night. I love you too" Gabriella said.

Gabriella walked upstairs and went into the bedroom. She got into bed and cried herself to sleep that night. Was this really what they were going to be? Did this wanting to have a baby put a wall up in their marriage? Troy came to bed later that night and knew by the sound of Gabriella's breathing that she had been crying. He took a deep breath and released it. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly, careful not to wake her up and picked up his pillow and a blanket and went downstairs to the living room. He wanted to give her the space that she needed right now. Troy fell asleep on the couch and hoped that somehow this situation would get resolved. The next morning, Gabriella came downstairs and saw that Troy had slept downstairs. She swallowed hard and walked into the kitchen and started the coffee maker. The smell of fresh coffee woke Troy up. He walked into the kitchen and smiled slightly when he saw Gabriella.

"Morning" Troy said.

"Morning. You didn't come to bed last night" Gabriella said.

Troy shook his head.

"I wanted to give you your space" Troy said.

"It's your bed too, Troy. This will take a while for us to figure this out. You can't sleep on the couch forever" Gabriella said.

"Do you know how painful it is to hear you cry at night, knowing that I am the one that caused it? Why would I come to bed when I know that I'm not wanted, Gabriella? I don't want to fight and I don't want to argue because that is how these conversations usually go" Troy said.

Gabriella's eyes filled with tears.

"It hurts me too and I don't want to hurt you even more than I already did" Troy said.

"Troy" Gabriella said tearfully.

"I don't want to feel the way that I do. But I feel this way because I love you and I care about how you feel" Troy said.

Gabriella's lip quivered.

"This isn't getting better" Gabriella said.

"We need some help" Troy said.

"Do we call our parents or what do we do?' Gabriella asked.

"That would probably be the first step" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Do you want to call them or do you want me to?" Gabriella asked.

"I'll call when I get to work" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. A week later, Lucille, Jack, and Maria had talked to one another and they all figured out a way to help Gabriella and Troy. They invited the couple over to Maria's house to talk. Once Troy and Gabriella arrived, the five adults sat in the living room.

"Gabriella, honey, can you tell Troy how you feel?" Lucille asked.

"I know that we agreed to wait until after the season ended to try, but we both know that as days went by, the plan set in and we got frustrated and upset. I don't want this to break us apart. We've gone through too much to let it. I love you more than anything, Troy. You know that I do" Gabriella said.

Troy took Gabriella's hand in his and entwined their fingers together.

"I feel like this all depends on me. We can't try because of my schedule. We can't have a baby because of my schedule. It frustrates me just as much as it does to you. When you are upset that we can't try, it hurts me and makes me feel like it's my fault. We decided together to wait until the season is over to start trying because we didn't want to risk getting pregnant in the middle and something happening. I don't want to feel the way that I do, Brie. I don't" Troy said.

Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks and she choked out a sob.

"I don't know what to do. Is this my fault that we are fighting like this? Did I push the subject too much?" Gabriela cried.

Silent tears ran down Troy's cheeks. He hated when Gabriella cried like this. He's seen it a couple times and every time, his heart pounds like it's going to explode.

"It's not your fault, Brie. I want to have a baby with you. I've told you before" Troy said.

"But before nine months is up Troy, you start the season again. So why should we wait?" Gabriella cried.

Lucille, looked at the couple and took a deep breath. She was a psychologist and was an expert in marriage counseling, but seeing problems within her own family, was extremely difficult.

"Troy, do you want to have another baby? It's okay to say what you feel" Lucille said.

"I want to. I really do. But, I don't see how it's going to work right now. My schedule is crazy" Troy said.

"Then when, Troy? When you have retired?" Gabriella asked.

"Gabi, calm down" Lucille said sweetly as she put her hand on her daughter-in-laws.

"I would drop everything to have a baby with you right now, Gabs. You know that. I have to work and it sometimes requires me to be away. I'm doing this for you. So you don't have to do it alone" Troy said.

Alright, alright. Both of you, relax. You both aren't on the same page. You need to figure out a way to get to that point" Lucille said.

The two mothers tried to talk to their children and figure out a way to help them come to a decision. A couple days later, Troy came home and smiled slightly when he saw Gabriella.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?' Troy asked.

Gabriella looked at Troy and nodded. The couple sat down.

"I'm going to tell you something and you will probably be very upset about it. But, I did this for us and our family" Troy started.

"What did you do?" Gabriella asked.

"I quit the team" Troy said.

Gabriella's eyes widened.

"You what?" Gabriella asked.

"I quit. I called Mark and talked to him and I told him that I quit" Troy said.

"Troy" Gabriella started.

"Gabriella, I did this for us. So we can go back to what we were. I hate being in the room and feeling tension. I hate that we don't tell the other what we are planning to do anymore. I hate that we don't tell each other that we love each other anymore. I don't want to live like that. I love you more than basketball. You are the love of my life" Troy said.

Gabriella swallowed hard.

"I didn't want you to quit, Troy" Gabriella said.

"Well, I made a decision and I did it" Troy said.

"Troy" Gabriella started.

"Gabriella, do you want to make another baby with me?" Troy asked.

"I didn't want you to quit what you loved, Troy" Gabriella said.

"Brie, the problem was that I was going to be back and forth right?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I eliminated the problem by quitting" Troy said.

Gabriella stood in silence.

"Say something, please" Troy said.

"It doesn't eliminate the problem" Gabriella said.

"Why?" Troy asked.

"Because now that you quit, you are going to resent me. I don't want to be in that position" Gabriella said.

Troy closed his eyes and took a deep breath and released it. He opened his eyes and looked at his wife. How did things get this bad?

"Gabriella, I've said it a thousand times, you are more important than basketball. I love you, Logan, and Grace more than that. You are my everything. I may be upset about quitting, but I would never blame that on you. I thought that joining the team would give me the time that I lost in high school. But I know that the glory days are over and I have to move on" Troy said.

"You love it, Troy" Gabriella said.

"But I love you more. I want to have another baby with you, Brie. I want to be there for everything. Look what happened when we were in high school. Do you remember the day that you had pain in the middle of my game?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

 _Flashback_

' _Mom" Gabriella said._

 _Lucille looked at Gabriella and knew something was wrong._

" _Are you in pain Gabi?" Lucille asked._

 _Gabriella nodded. Lucille took Gabriella's hand and they made their way to the ground level of the gym. She then went to the team management and whispered to one of the people standing there. That person then went to Jack and whispered in his ear, who then blew his whistle and motioned for Troy to sit out. Troy walked to the side line and saw Gabriella and Lucille._

" _What's going on?" Troy asked._

" _Gabi needs to go to the hospital" Lucille said._

 _Troy looked at Gabriella, who had her hand on her bump and tears threatening to fall._

" _What's wrong baby?" Troy asked._

" _I have a pain in my stomach" Gabriella said._

 _Troy ran his fingers through his hair._

" _What are we going to do Troy?" Gabriella asked._

 _Troy's eyes softened and he sighed. He looked at Gabriella, who was scared to death and then looked at the remaining time of the game on the clock. Troy then looked at Gabriella._

" _This is what we are going to do okay? Listen to me Brie. You and mom are going to go to the hospital. It will probably take an hour for them to get you into a hospital room and for Dr. Brand to come. I will finish the game and be the first one out and on my way to you okay?" Troy said._

 _Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned his forehead against Gabriella's._

" _I know you are scared sweetheart. But everything is going to be okay alright?" Troy said._

 _Gabriella nodded slowly. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly._

" _I'll see you over there okay?" Troy said._

" _Okay" Gabriella said softly._

" _I love you" Troy said._

" _I love you too" Gabriella said._

 _End of Flashback_

Gabriella nodded.

"Remember how I kept looking back at you and the clock?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I don't want to choose between two things. Even though I chose to meet you at the hospital after the game, I should have left when you did. I shouldn't have to make a choice between basketball and my family" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you, Brie. More than anything. This is a good thing" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"So where does this leave us? I'm in if you are" Troy said.

"Are you absolutely sure that you want to do this?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes, I'm one thousand percent sure" Troy said.

"Let's do it" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I don't want to fight anymore okay?" Troy said.

"I don't either" Gabriella said.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly. A couple weeks later, Gabriella came home from work and sighed when she saw Troy putting his basketball paraphernalia into a box. She walked over to her husband and kissed his cheek.

"What are you doing baby?" Gabriella asked.

"Packing this stuff up" Troy said.

"Don't get rid of all of that, Troy" Gabriella said.

"I don't want to look at it" Troy said.

"Why don't you put it up in the attic? That way, you will still have it but don't have to look at it" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just want everything packed up" Troy said looking at his wife.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled. The couple had started trying and they were waiting for any type of symptom to show up.

"I'm fine. Nothing yet" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"Okay. Grace and Logan are upstairs" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I love you too" Troy said.

That night, Troy was in the backyard shooting hoops. Gabriella had put the kids to bed and walked out to the backyard.

"I'll play you" Gabriella said pulling Troy out of his own thoughts.

Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"Game on" Troy said.

The couple started a game and stole kisses from one another any chance that they could get. Gabriella was about to shoot the ball when Troy picked her up and spun her around. She laughed.

"Foul! That's not fair" Gabriella said.

Troy placed Gabriella's feet back on the ground. Gabriella smiled. Troy stood in front of her and leaned in and kissed her lips softly, but passionately. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and kissed him back. Troy lifted Gabriella into his arms and she instantly wrapped her legs around his waist. He dropped the basketball that was in his hands. Gabriella pulled away and leaned her forehead against Troy's. Troy smiled.

"I don't think you want to do this outside" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled and shook her head.

"Let's move it inside" Gabriella said softly.

Troy nodded and walked into the house with Gabriella in his arms. They walked upstairs and shut the door. Clothes were removed and the couple made it to their bed. Troy pulled away from Gabriella and looked into her eyes for any doubts that she had.

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled and nodded.

"Are you sure that _you_ want to do this should be the question" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I want to" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and leaned in and kissed Troy's lips. The couple made love to each other that night with every emotion that they felt. The next morning, Troy woke up and smiled when he saw Gabriella sleeping soundly, wrapped in a sheet. He moved Gabriella closer to him, carefully not to wake her. They had talked after their _activities_ last night.

 _Flashback_

 _Gabriella collapsed against Troy's chest and tried to get her breathing under control. Troy did the same. Gabriella leaned in and kissed her husband's lips._

" _Can we talk about something? It's kind of serious" Gabriella said._

 _Troy looked at Gabriella, his eyes telling her to continue._

" _Do you think that we fought so much about having a baby and everything else because we did everything backwards? Is everything just catching up to us?" Gabriella asked._

 _Troy blinked and cleared his throat a little bit._

" _It's possible. We had Grace and Logan really young. We had to grow up faster than the normal person. But we fought for what we loved. That was the difference. We didn't fight about things that weren't important. We fought about real issues that were going on in our lives" Troy said._

 _Gabriella nodded._

" _And I don't want to fight like that with you ever again. That's not who we are. That's not something we do. We never fight" Troy continued._

" _I don't either" Gabriella said._

" _We had a difference of opinions and it escalated. But, we are fine now right?" Troy said._

 _Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled._

" _So we shouldn't bring this up anymore. It's over" Troy said._

 _Gabriella snuggled into Troy's chest._

" _I love you" Gabriella said._

" _I love you too. So much" Troy said kissing Gabriella's head._

 _End of Flashback._

Gabriella opened her eyes slowly. She looked down and smiled when she saw a sheet wrapped around her naked body.

"Good morning" Troy mumbled.

"Morning" Gabriella mumbled back.

"Sleep well?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Feeling alright after last night?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and leaned in and kissed Gabriella's swollen lips softly.

"And now we wait" Troy said.


	8. The Chamber Of Secrets

A couple weeks later, Troy walked downstairs and smiled when he saw Gabriella putting away toys that were scattered around the living room.

"Need some help?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled.

"Sure" Gabriella said.

Troy picked up a couple of toys and put them in the bin that they had sitting on the floor by the couch.

"Kids taking their nap?" Troy asked.

"Yeah. My mom is going to pick them up after. They are going to stay with her for the weekend" Gabriella said.

"Oh" Troy said.

"So that we can have some much needed time to ourselves" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly as he put the last toy that was on the floor in the bin.

"Are you thinking what I think you are?" Troy asked.

Gabriella blushed and walked over to Troy.

"Any chance we can get; we have to make the best of it" Gabriella said.

"Still nothing?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head. That night, Maria had picked up Logan and Grace. Gabriella closed the door and walked into the kitchen. Troy had been out in the backyard for a while, shooting hoops. Gabriella walked outside and smiled.

"Your knee is going to act up if you work yourself too hard" Gabriella said.

Troy ran up to the basket and dunked the ball into the hoop. He held onto the rim and jumped down and tried to catch his breath.

"Kids just left" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"We can go grab a bite and see what we want to do after. If that is alright with you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"That sounds perfect. Can I take a shower first?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, go" Gabriella said.

The couple walked into the house. An hour later, Troy and Gabriella were at the restaurant where they had their first date.

"I talked to my mom a couple days ago when she had asked to have the kids for the weekend. She asked how trying was going" Gabriella said.

"My mom asked the same. It's going to take time and practice. But it will happen" Troy said.

"I just don't want to go through what we went through again" Gabriella said.

Troy put his hand on top of Gabriella's.

"All we can do is wait and see" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"You are missing the team" Gabriella said changing the subject.

"No I'm not. I just shoot hoops when I need to clear my head" Troy said.

"Did you have a bad day at work?" Gabriella asked.

"No. Chad called and told me that he's engaged" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"That's amazing. But, why is that a reason to shoot hoops?" Gabriella asked.

"He did everything the right way. He graduated high school when he was supposed to, he went to college when he was supposed to, after college he moved in with his girlfriend, and now he popped the question. He did it" Troy said.

"You wish that you had done it that way" Gabriella concluded.

Troy swallowed hard.

"Sometimes. But, I don't regret anything" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy entwined their fingers together.

"We had a baby, went to school, got married, had another baby, got a stable career, and now want to have another baby" Gabriella said.

"That's a mouthful" Troy joked.

Gabriella smiled.

"I wouldn't change anything" Troy said.

The couple ate and drove home. Once they got home, Troy and Gabriella walked upstairs.

"I'm going to take a shower" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella grabbed a towel and her clothes and went into the bathroom and closed the door. Twenty minutes later, Gabriella poked her head out of the bathroom and saw Troy looking at his phone.

"Hey babe, can you help me with my necklace?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah" Troy said.

Troy got off the bed and walked to the bathroom. Gabriella opened the door a little more and Troy's eyes grew when he saw what Gabriella was wearing.

"What are you wearing?" Troy asked looking at Gabriella, who was wearing a matching lingerie set.

"You don't like it?" Gabriella asked slightly blushing.

Troy bit his lip.

"No, I like it. What's the occasion? We've been trying for-" Troy started.

"I wanted to change it up. You don't like it. I'll go change" Gabriella said.

Troy put his hand on Gabriella's arm. She looked at Troy. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly but passionately. He lifted her into his arms and walked out of the bathroom to the bed and carefully placed Gabriella onto it. The lingerie set was carefully removed and the night was filled with every ounce of love that the couple felt for each other. The next morning, Troy woke up and saw Gabriella changed and ready for the day.

"Where are you going?" Troy asked.

"Um..." Gabriella said.

"Gabriella, where are you going?" Troy asked again.

Gabriella closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and looked at Troy.

"Dr. Brand's" Gabriella said.

"For what?" Troy asked.

Busted.

"I scheduled check-ups every month. I just want to monitor everything and make sure that I'm okay" Gabriella said.

Troy knew that the sensitivity of the miscarriage that Gabriella had was coming back.

"Do you want me to go with you? I will if you want or need me to" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly and nodded.

"Alright, let me get dressed and we will go" Troy said kissing her lips.

Ten minutes later, the couple were driving to Dr. Brand's.

"Were you just going to sneak out?" Troy finally asked.

"I didn't want you to worry" Gabriella said.

"I would have been more worried if I didn't know where you were. You have to talk to me, Brie" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm taking all the precautions" Gabriella said.

"I know and I know that you are worried. But, baby you got to let me in and tell me what's going on" Troy said.

"I'm sorry" Gabriella said.

"No more sneak outs okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. The couple arrived at Dr. Brand's and parked the car. They walked in and Gabriella was called immediately. Five minutes later, Gabriella was sitting on an exam table in a gown waiting for Dr. Brand.

"How many of these have you been having?" Troy asked.

"There was only one before this one" Gabriella said.

"Gabriella" Troy started.

"I don't want you to be mad. If we are actively trying, I want to make sure that everything is okay" Gabriella said tears forming in her eyes.

Troy stood up and put one hand next to Gabriella's left and right leg.

"I don't want you to be doing this by yourself" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm sorry" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's forehead. Dr. Brand came in and smiled.

"Troy, I didn't expect to see you here" Dr. Brand said.

"He saw me sneaking out" Gabriella said.

Dr. Brand nodded.

"So what are we looking for exactly?" Troy asked.

"We are just monitoring Troy. Making sure that all Gabriella's numbers are normal and that internally she is okay" Dr. Brand said.

Troy nodded.

"What do you want to start with first? The blood sample or urine?" Dr. Brand asked.

"Blood first" Gabriella said.

Dr. Brand called in a nurse to take Gabriella's blood. She then handed Gabriella a cup for the urine sample. After both were done, Dr. Brand looked at the couple.

"Troy, are you okay?" Dr. Brand asked.

"Yeah. I just didn't think that these appointments that you had been going to were this extensive" Troy said.

Gabriella looked down, embarrassed. She knew that she had hurt Troy by not telling him. Dr. Brand smiled.

"The results from the lab work last time were normal. There wasn't anything that looked abnormal or elevated" Dr. Brand said knowing that Troy wanted to know about the previous appointment.

Troy nodded.

"I want to do an exam as well" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded and lied back. She spread her legs apart and looked at Troy.

"I'm sorry" Gabriela said with tears in her eyes.

Troy wiped the tears that were running down her cheeks. He took her hand in his own.

"Don't be. You were being cautious and that's a good thing" Troy said.

Dr. Brand washed her hands and put a pair of latex gloves on.

"Are you ready, Gabi?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella nodded and took a deep breath. Dr. Brand examined Gabriella. Troy held her hand and smoothed her hair back. A couple moments later, Dr. Brand looked up and smiled.

"Everything looks fine. No inflammation or anything like that" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Do you want to make an appointment for next month?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'll get that set up and call you with the lab results okay?" Dr. Brand said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Dr. Brand left the exam room. Gabriella changed back into her clothes and the couple left the office. As they were driving, Troy looked at Gabriella.

"Aren't you going to lecture me on how irresponsible and crazy I am?" Gabriella asked.

"No. You were being responsible and you took the initiative to make sure that you were healthy and that we were doing everything right. I'm upset because you didn't tell me, Brie. You kept that from me" Troy said.

"I was scared and I shut down" Gabriella said.

"I know. But, if you had told me at the beginning, I could have helped or tried to" Troy said.

"I guess we are back to where we started" Gabriella mumbled.

"I don't want to argue about this okay? When it comes down to your health, I want to know about what is going on. Did I do something to make you try to hide this from me?" Troy asked.

"No. I just wanted to handle it on my own. I'm scared that it will happen again. That's why I am doing this" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He pulled into the driveway and parked his car. The couple got out.

"Brie" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy.

"Come here" Troy said.

Gabriella walked over to Troy, who opened his arms. Gabriella walked into them and wrapped her arms around Troy's waist.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"Let's drop this conversation okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. The couple walked into the house and watched movies for the rest of the day. A couple weeks later, Troy had just come into the house from the backyard after shooting hoops. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle and took a sip. Logan walked into the room.

"Daddy" Logan said.

"Yeah?" Troy asked.

"I have a secret to tell you" Logan said.

Troy smiled.

"A secret, huh? What kind of secret?" Troy asked kneeling down to his son's level.

"A mommy secret" Logan said.

"A mommy secret? Is it about mommy or you don't want me to tell mommy?" Troy asked.

"About mommy" Logan said.

"What is it?" Troy asked.

"Mommy said that she is going to have a baby" Logan said.

"She told you that?" Troy asked trying not to show any sort of emotion.

Logan nodded.

"Did she tell you not to tell me buddy?" Troy asked.

"She told me not to" Logan said.

Troy nodded.

"Thank you for telling me anyway" Troy said.

Logan smiled. Troy smiled at his son and stood up. He watched Logan go off and play. Troy walked upstairs and saw Gabriella putting away clothes that she had folded in Grace's room.

"What are you doing?" Troy asked.

"Putting away laundry" Gabriella said.

"You shouldn't be working yourself that hard. The stress will hurt the baby" Troy said trying not to smile.

Gabriella dropped what she was doing and looked at Troy like a deer in headlights.

"Our son is very smart" Troy said.

"Troy-" Gabriella started.

Troy raised his eyebrow and looked at Gabriella.

"I was going to tell you tonight. I just took the test and Logan saw me when I had just read the results" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded amused of how Gabriella reacted to being caught.

"Troy, say something" Gabriella said.

Troy was trying not to laugh.

"It's not funny" Gabriella said.

"Never trust Logan with your secrets. He loves his daddy and will tell" Troy said.

"Troy-" Gabriella started.

Troy walked over to Gabriella and kissed her lips.

"I'm happy baby. Just next time when you think of telling our children something, tell Grace. She doesn't tell a soul" Troy said.

Gabriella shook her head.

"I thought I could trust him" Gabriella said.

"He's three, Brie. He repeats everything that he hears" Troy said.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows in agreement.

"But I am happy. We did it" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I have to make an appointment with Dr. Brand and I still need to have those check-ups. Now, more than before" Gabriella said.

"Hey, look at me" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy.

"We have to get you checked out. But we can't obsess over every little thing, babe. We can only do so much" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Now it's real and I don't want to mess up everything that I have been researching" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"And you are not going to. You just have to let everything come the way it needs to. You can't try to stop it" Troy said.

"I know. I just worry" Gabriella said.

"I know. But, it's not going to happen this time baby" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She wrapped her arms around Troy and sighed. Troy kissed her head softly.

"I love you and I am going to keep you and this baby safe" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.


	9. A Sigh Of Relief

A couple weeks later, Gabriella was lying on the couch. She had had the worst morning sickness and called in sick. Logan walked into the living room and looked at his mother.

"Mommy, can you carry me?" Logan asked.

"Baby, mommy isn't feeling very well right now. Maybe daddy can" Gabriella said.

"Are you sick?" Logan asked.

Gabriella smiled slightly.

"Sort of. Remember how I told you that I was going to have a baby?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes" Logan said.

"Well as the baby grows inside my tummy, it makes me sick. That's why I don't feel well" Gabriella said.

"I don't want you to have a baby if it makes you sick" Logan said as his eyes filled with tears.

"Logan it's okay. It's only for a little while" Gabriella said.

"Really?" Logan asked innocently.

Gabriella smiled slightly and nodded.

"In a couple months, the baby won't make me sick anymore" Gabriella said.

Troy overheard the conversation between Logan and Gabriella and smiled. He walked into the room and looked at Logan.

"Logan, mommy is going to be just fine okay?" Troy said.

Logan nodded. Gabriella smiled sweetly.

"Come here baby" Gabriella said.

Logan walked closer to the couch. Gabriella leaned over and kissed Logan's cheek.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too mommy" Logan said.

A couple hours later, Gabriella was back to her old self. She walked over to Logan, who was sitting on the couch and watching a movie.

"What are you watching?" Gabriella asked.

"Disney" Logan said.

Gabriella smiled. She knew that Logan was young and didn't understand what was going on.

"Do you want to go see mama and papa?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah" Logan said excitedly.

"Okay, let's go" Gabriella said.

Gabriella and Logan left the house and went to the Bolton's. Logan rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer the door.

"Hey champ" Jack said as he opened the door.

"Papa, mommy is going to have a baby" Logan said.

"She is?" Jack asked as they walked into the house.

"I found out a couple weeks ago" Gabriella said.

"Congratulations" Jack said.

"Thanks dad" Gabriella said.

"Are you still going to have those once a month appointments?" Jack asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Until I get passed the miscarriage stage. Just to be on the safe side" Gabriella said.

"That's good. Don't stress out about it, Gabi" Jack said.

Gabriella smiled slightly.

"It's hard not to, but I am doing my best" Gabriella said.

"How did the kids take it?" Jack asked.

"Grace was okay with it since she has already gone through it when we had Logan. Logan is trying to figure it out. I had morning sickness this morning and he was really worried" Gabriella said.

"He's protective of his mom. That's a good thing" Jack said.

Gabriella smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, he's been really clingy since we told them" Gabriella said.

"He's trying to figure it all out. He's also a boy. Grace was a girl and so she was happy about the whole thing" Jack said.

Gabriella nodded.

"How's Troy handling it?" Jack asked.

"He's happy. He's been taking Logan out and trying to spend more time with him. He thinks maybe he just needs his dad to talk about it with him" Gabriella said.

"That could be helpful" Jack said.

Gabriella and Jack talked for a little while longer. That night, Gabriella tucked Logan into bed.

"Night baby. I love you" Gabriella said kissing her son's head.

"Mommy?" Logan asked.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

"Does it hurt when the baby grows?" Logan asked.

Gabriella smiled. She opened her arms and Logan hugged his mother. Gabriella lifted her son out of bed and set him on her hip. The mother and son duo walked downstairs and saw Troy in the kitchen.

"Hey buddy, aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Troy asked.

"We need to have a conversation with Logan, Troy" Gabriella said walking into the living room.

Troy followed Gabriella into the living room. Gabriella set Logan on the couch.

"What happened?" Troy asked sitting down in front of Logan and Gabriella.

"We need to talk about the baby with Logan. He's very worried about me" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly. Logan reminded Troy of himself in many ways.

"What are you worried about Logan?" Troy asked.

"When the baby grows, does it hurt mommy?" Logan asked.

Troy shook his head.

"No, it doesn't. The baby doesn't hurt mommy in any way" Troy said.

Logan nodded.

"Does that answer your question?" Troy asked.

Logan nodded.

"Do you have any other questions?" Troy asked.

"Does the baby eat in mommy's tummy?" Logan asked.

"Yeah. He or she eats whatever mommy eats" Troy said.

"If she ate chocolate, the baby would eat the chocolate too?" Logan asked.

Troy smiled and nodded.

"Yeah" Troy said.

"Oh" Logan said.

"Do you understand?" Troy asked.

Logan nodded.

"Mommy is going to bring you back to bed okay?" Troy said.

Logan nodded.

"Come on baby" Gabriella said holding out her hand.

Logan took Gabriella's hand and they went upstairs. A couple minutes later, Gabriella came downstairs.

"I think I'm going to go to bed" Gabriella said.

"Are you feeling okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm just tired" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips.

"Night" Gabriella said.

"Good night baby. I'll be up in a little while" Troy said.

"Okay. I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too" Troy said.

Gabriella walked upstairs and into the bedroom and fell asleep. Later that night, Troy walked upstairs and checked on Grace and Logan and smiled when he saw both of his children asleep. He then walked into the master bedroom and saw Gabriella trying to get comfortable as she slept. Troy got into bed and Gabriella opened her eyes.

"Go back to sleep. It's just me" Troy said.

Gabriella closed her eyes and snuggled into Troy's chest.

"Can't sleep" Gabriella said tiredly.

"Why?" Troy asked.

"Mind won't shut off" Gabriella mumbled.

Troy turned on the light that was on the bedside table. He propped himself up on his side and looked at Gabriella.

"Baby, what's bothering you?" Troy asked.

"Thinking a lot" Gabriella said.

"About what?" Troy asked.

"Miscarriages" Gabriella mumbled.

Troy nodded.

"Honey, nothing is going to happen. I promise. You are taking every precaution. You go to the doctor once a week. There's nothing to worry about" Troy said.

"When you go through something like that, you never think it will happen to you. But when it does, everything changes. You always think something bad is going to happen" Gabriella said.

"I know. But, you got through it Brie. You are stronger than you have ever been because of it. If it happens again, we will deal with it then. But for right now, nothing is happening. So we don't need to worry about it" Troy said gently.

"It doesn't stop me from thinking about it" Gabriella said.

"I know. Focus on the positive. We thought we weren't going to be able to have another baby after it but we are. You are healthy and the baby is healthy" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"Don't focus on the possibility of a miscarriage happening. Focus on her" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly.

"You think the baby is a girl?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't know. It just came out like that. Get some sleep okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too" Troy said kissing her lips.

A couple days later, Gabriella was helping Grace with her hair. She had her ballet class that day and Troy was going to take her and go work out as well. Troy came downstairs and smiled when he saw his daughter dressed and ready for her class.

"You look so pretty, Grace" Troy said.

Grace smiled.

"Thank you daddy" Grace said.

"Your welcome. You ready to go?" Troy asked.

"Yes" Grace said.

Gabriella finished Grace's hair.

"Alright, you are done. Give me a kiss" Gabriella said.

Grace kissed her mother and Troy and Grace left the house. Ten minutes later, Troy and Grace walked to Grace's ballet classroom. Troy kneeled down in front of Grace.

"Do you want me to walk you in or do you want to go in by yourself like a big girl?" Troy asked.

"Go in by myself" Grace said.

"Alright. Give me a kiss" Troy said

Grace kissed Troy. She then walked into her classroom. Troy smiled. His baby was growing up. Troy walked to the weight lifting area of the gym and did his workout. An hour later, Troy had finished and was waiting for Grace to finish her class. Grace walked out of the classroom and smiled when she saw Troy.

"Daddy, can the baby eat lollipop's?" Grace asked.

Troy smiled.

"No. It doesn't have teeth yet, baby" Troy said.

"Oh. My teacher gave us lollipops" Grace said.

"Maybe you can give one to Logan" Troy suggested.

"Yeah" Grace said.

"You ready to go home?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. Troy held out his hand and Grace took it. They left the gym and drove home. Troy and Grace walked into the house.

"Mommy!" Grace called.

Gabriella walked into the hallway and smiled.

"Hey, how was ballet?" Gabriella asked.

"Good. I got lollipop's" Grace said.

"Oh yeah?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded.

"Can I give one to Logan?" Grace asked.

"Yeah, go ahead" Gabriella said.

Grace walked over to Logan and handed him the lollipop.

"She asked if the baby could eat lollipops" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"What did you tell her?" Gabriella asked.

"I told her that it didn't have teeth to bite it" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled.

"It's true" Troy said.

"I know" Gabriella said.

"When's your next doctor's appointment?" Troy asked.

"Tomorrow" Gabriella said.

"In the morning?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'll call in tomorrow and tell them I need the morning off" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

The couple relaxed around the house the remainder of the day. The next morning, Gabriella came out of the bathroom after her daily morning sickness episode. Troy opened his eyes and smiled slightly.

"How are you feeling baby?" Troy asked.

"Pregnant" Gabriella said.

"No bleeding?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"Good. We got to get going soon. Is mom coming to watch the kids or are they going to her?" Troy asked.

"She's coming here. They will probably be sleeping still" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. The couple got ready for the day and waited for Maria to arrive. Once she did, the couple left the house. As Troy drove, he noticed Gabriella looking like she was thinking about something. He knew that she was nervous. Troy took her hand in his own and kissed it.

"Am I that obvious?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled.

"Brie, it's okay to be nervous. But, we have to think about what's happening today. You are not bleeding and last time you said that Dr. Brand said that the baby looked fine" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"It feels like the first time that we went to Dr. Brand when we found out we were pregnant with Grace" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

 _Flashback_

 _Troy rubbed Gabriella's thumb, which was shaking, with his own. He kissed it gently. A nurse came into the room with a file and looked at the patients that were waiting in the room._

 _"Gabriella Montez?" the nurse called._

 _Troy and Gabriella stood up and walked towards the nurse. She then escorted them into a room where Gabriella's blood pressure, temperature, height, and weight were taken. The couple was then escorted into an exam room._

 _"Gabriella, please change into this gown. Take your bra and underwear off and Dr. Brand will be in shortly" the nurse said._

 _"Okay" Gabriella said._

 _The nurse left the room._

 _"Do you want me to step out while you change?" Troy asked._

 _"We've been together for almost five years Troy. You've seen me naked thousands of times" Gabriella said._

 _"I just want to make you feel comfortable, that's all" Troy said._

 _"I know and thanks for asking" Gabriella said._

 _Gabriella changed into the gown and sat on the exam table. Troy took Gabriella's hand in his and could feel it shaking. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand, who had long, dark brown hair came into the room._

 _"Hi Gabriella, who is this?" Dr. Brand asked._

 _"This is my boyfriend, Troy" Gabriella said._

 _"Hi Troy" Dr. Brand said._

 _"Hi" Troy said._

 _"Gabriella, it says here that you took a pregnancy test and it came out positive" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella nodded._

 _"My mom wanted to know how far along I was" Gabriella said._

 _Dr. Brand nodded._

 _"Okay, let's take a look" Dr. Brand said._

 _Dr. Brand washed her hands and turned on the ultrasound. She lifted Gabriella's gown above her bellybutton. Dr. Brand sensed that Gabriella was scared to death and put her hand on her shoulder._

 _"Gabriella, I know that you are scared and that's completely normal. If I make you feel uncomfortable, let me know okay?" Dr. Brand said sweetly._

 _Gabriella nodded. Troy looked at Gabriella and kissed her head softly. Once the ultrasound had heated, Dr. Brand picked up a bottle of gel._

 _"This might be a little cold" Dr. Brand said._

 _Dr. Brand squeezed some of the product onto Gabriella's stomach. Gabriella flinched at the temperature but then relaxed, once it set into her skin. Dr. Brand put the gel bottle back in its place and then picked up the wand that was connected to the ultrasound._

 _"Alright, are you ready?" Dr. Brand asked._

 _Gabriella looked at Troy, who smiled at her and nodded._

 _"We're ready" Gabriella said._

 _Dr. Brand placed the wand on Gabriella's stomach and started moving the gel around with it. She looked at the monitor and pointed to it._

 _"See that dot? That's your baby" Dr. Brand said._

 _Gabriella and Troy looked at the monitor and they both choked up. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly and wiped her tears away. Dr. Brand moved the wand around Gabriela's stomach._

 _"You are about five weeks along" Dr. Brand said._

 _"That's early" Gabriella said._

 _Dr. Brand nodded._

 _"Daddy, what do you think?" Dr. Brand asked._

 _Troy smiled and looked at the monitor._

 _"It makes it feel more real to see a picture" Troy said._

 _Gabriella nodded in agreement._

 _"Let me go print these pictures for you and I will be back okay?" Dr. Brand said._

 _"Okay" Gabriella said._

 _Dr. Brand left the room. Gabriella looked at her boyfriend and saw tears running down his cheeks. She quickly wiped them away._

 _End of Flashback_

"I remember that day. That was probably the scariest moment of my whole life" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy pulled into Dr. Brand's office. The couple got out of the car and walked into the office. Gabriella signed herself in and sat down next to Troy. Gabriella's name was called and the couple was escorted to an exam room. She changed into a gown and sat on the exam table. Troy didn't get a really good look at Gabriella when he figured out that she was nervous until now. She was swallowing hard, her pupils were huge, her legs swinging back and forth, and her hands were trembling.

"Baby, I'm right here okay?" Troy reassured her.

Gabriella nodded. Troy stood up and stood in front of Gabriella. He placed a kiss on her lips and smoothed her hair back.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly. He saw Gabriella relax a little bit after that. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came in and smiled.

"Hi guys. How are you feeling Gabi?" Dr. Brand asked.

"Okay. No bleeding so I guess that's good" Gabriella said.

Dr. Brand smiled.

"You've been stressing out about it haven't you?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I just don't want anything to go wrong. I know that the miscarriage wasn't my fault. But it felt like it was" Gabriella said.

Troy put his hand on top of Gabriella's.

"You have been doing everything that you are supposed to. You've been monitoring everything. All the scans that we have done have been normal" Dr. Brand said.

Troy looked at Gabriella. Gabriella nodded.

"I know that it's a traumatic thing to go through. But, as long as the baby is healthy and growing on schedule, there should be no miscarriage at all" Dr. Brand continued.

Gabriella nodded.

"I think it's also the fact that I'm young and I had Grace so young. I'm just scared that something bad is going to happen" Gabriella said.

Dr. Brand nodded.

"I'm going to make sure that nothing happens to you or the baby" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy looked at Gabriella and kissed her head softly. Dr. Brand went ahead with the ultrasound and exam. After, Gabriella changed back into her clothes and sat on the exam table.

"So, is everything okay?" Gabriella asked.

Dr. Brand smiled sympathetically.

"Everything looks fine, Gabi. The baby is growing on schedule. Your exam looked good. All your vitals were normal" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded.

"So, does this mean she is in the clear?" Troy asked.

"From what I can see, yes. You are twelve weeks right?" Dr. Brand said.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

"You are in the clear" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella smiled.

"It's going to be okay?" Gabriella asked putting her hand on her stomach.

Dr. Brand nodded.

"You are officially out of the miscarriage point" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella sighed in relief. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek softly and rubbed her back in soothing circles.

"Thank you" Gabriella said.

Dr. Brand smiled.

"I'll see you next month" Dr. Brand said.

Dr. Brand left the room. Troy looked at Gabriella, who had tears running down her face.

"Baby, everything is fine. Don't cry" Troy said wrapping his arms around his wife.

"I was so scared" Gabriella said.

"I know you were. I was too. But, now we can celebrate" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and tightened her grip on Troy. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek and rubbed her back.

"We're going to have a healthy and happy baby" Troy continued.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I love you too, Brie. So much. Come on, let's go home" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and pulled away from Troy. Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled. He wiped her tears away and kissed her lips. The couple left the house and went home. They couldn't wait for the newest addition to their family to arrive.


	10. Up and Down

The next morning, Gabriella woke up and frowned when she didn't see Troy in bed next to her. She got out of bed and was about to walk out of the room when a familiar wave of nausea hit. Gabriella ran to the bathroom and released the contents of her stomach. After she finished, Gabriella brushed her teeth and wiped her tears away. She walked out of the bathroom and went downstairs and saw Troy in the kitchen.

"Good morning" Troy said.

"Morning" Gabriella said wrapping her arms around her husband.

"Feeling okay?" Troy asked.

"Just had morning sickness" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly and put his hand on the small of Gabriella's back.

"Do you want me to make you some tea?" Troy asked.

"I'll do it" Gabriella said.

"Are you sure? I can do it baby" Troy said.

"No, it's fine" Gabriella said pulling out a mug from the cabinet.

Gabriella made her cup of tea and looked at Troy.

"Does it feel the same as when you were pregnant with Logan and Grace?" Troy asked.

"I don't feel scared. With Grace, I was petrified and a hypochondriac and didn't know what anything meant. With Logan, I kind of had a better idea and was more aware. But it made me more scared because I actually knew what was going to happen. With this one, I know what's going to happen and I'm prepared for everything" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella took a sip of her tea.

"We also don't have to worry about us being in separate places just in case something happened" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Do you want a girl or a boy this time?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't care as long as it's healthy" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Should I still continue the weekly appointments?" Gabriella asked.

"I think that if you are in the clear, you don't need to do them anymore" Troy said.

"But to be on the safe side?" Gabriella asked.

"Baby, Dr. Brand said the baby was fine. I really don't think you need to go every week anymore" Troy said.

Gabriella looked down at her hands. Troy knew that Gabriella was still worried and didn't want to upset her and say the wrong thing.

"Sweetheart, look at me" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at her husband.

"I know that you are still nervous because of what happened, but Dr. Brand has double checked and she said that the baby is fine and out of the miscarriage point. Don't you think it would be unnecessary to go and have those appointments when everything is fine?" Troy asked softly.

"I know that the baby is okay. I just don't want anything to happen down the line. I'm just worried about it" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"And that's okay to be worried, Brie. But for right now, the baby is fine. If something happens, yes you need to get checked out. But obsessing over it isn't going to make everything be fine. I'm not trying to tell you that what you are feeling is wrong because it isn't. I just don't want you to get stressed out about something that isn't a problem" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled softly and opened his arms. Gabriella walked into them and wrapped her arms around Troy's waist and took a deep breath and instantly relaxed.

"I don't want you to worry about any of this. I know that you are going to. But you have to believe that the baby is going to be okay and that it won't be like last time" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I have to get ready for work" Troy said kissing Gabriella's cheek.

Gabriella smiled and watched Troy walk out of the room. That afternoon, Gabriella got home from work early and smiled when she saw Grace and Logan sitting at the table and drawing.

"Hi mom" Gabriella said.

"Hi. How are you feeling?" Maria asked.

"Up and down. Morning sickness was worse than I remember it" Gabriella said.

"Do you need me to take the kids tonight? I can if you need me too" Maria said.

"No. Troy will be home soon. I'll take a nap when he gets here" Gabriella said.

"Alright" Maria said.

Grace and Logan said goodbye to Maria and she left the house. An hour later, Troy came home to Gabriella sleeping on the couch with Logan lying against her chest and Grace sleeping on the other couch. He walked over to Gabriella and carefully lifted Logan into his arms. Careful not to wake him, Troy walked upstairs to Logan's bedroom and placed him in his bed. Troy walked downstairs and went over to Grace and did the same thing. After putting both kids in their beds, Troy walked into the living room and kneeled down in front of the couch and kissed Gabriella's cheek. Gabriella moaned and opened her eyes slowly.

"Hey sleeping beauty" Troy said.

Gabriella looked around the room.

"Where are the kids?" Gabriella asked sleepily.

"I brought them upstairs and put them in bed. Are you feeling okay?" Troy asked.

"Just tired" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Long day?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Add a lot of work and a pregnancy together and you get the zombie that was formerly known as Gabriella Montez-Bolton" Gabriella said.

Troy laughed.

"At least you are a cute zombie" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Anything else happen?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"No. No bleeding or anything like that. I'm just really tired" Gabriella said.

"Okay. How was work today?" Troy asked.

"Fine" Gabriella said.

"Get all your work done?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. The couple talked for a little while longer until they decided to go to bed. The next morning, Gabriella woke up and got out of bed. She felt a familiar wave of nausea come over her and she ran to the bathroom. As she released the remains of her stomach, Logan appeared in the doorway of the bathroom. Troy woke up and sighed when he saw Logan watching Gabriella throw up. He got out of bed.

"Hey Logan, come here" Troy said.

Logan didn't move. Troy walked over to his son and took his hand.

"Come on buddy, let's go downstairs" Troy said.

"Mommy" Logan said.

"Mommy is okay. Come on, let's go downstairs" Troy said.

Logan followed Troy downstairs. The two boys went into the living room. Troy turned on the television and put one of Logan's favorite shows on.

"Is mommy going to be sick forever?" Logan asked.

Troy shook his head.

"The baby is going to make mommy sick for a little while but then she will get better" Troy said.

Troy knew that Logan was completely freaked out. He watched his son start watching his show and relax. Twenty minutes later, Troy heard footsteps and he turned his head and motioned for Gabriella not to come into the living room. He wanted to wait until Logan was done with his show for him to see Gabriella. Ten minutes later, the credits rolled and Logan looked at his father.

"Is mommy still sick?" Logan asked.

"She's in the kitchen. Do you want to go see her?" Troy asked.

Logan nodded. The two boys walked into the kitchen. Gabriella saw the boys walk into the room and smiled. She kneeled down and Logan ran into her arms. Gabriella lifted Logan onto her hip and kissed his head.

"Mommy, are you feeling better?" Logan asked.

The couple smiled.

"Yeah, I feel much better" Gabriella said.

"He got a little freaked out" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled sympathetically at her son.

"The baby is going to make me sick for a little while but then I will be back to normal" Gabriella said.

Logan nodded. Gabriella smiled.

"Kiss" Gabriella said.

Logan kissed his mother and giggled.

"I have to get ready for work" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I do too. Do you want me to drop them off or are you?" Troy asked.

"I have a meeting. Can you drop them?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah" Troy said.

"Thanks" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"Good morning" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Morning" Gabriella said.

"Have a good day. I love you" Troy said.

"You too. I love you. I'll call you when I'm on my way home" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella left the house. Troy looked at Logan and smiled.

"Come on, let's go get your sister up" Troy said.

An hour and a half later, Troy got back into his car after dropping the kids off at his parents' house and drove to work. That night, Gabriella came home later than usual.

"Hi guys" Gabriella said taking off her shoes and putting her purse down.

"Rough day?" Troy asked.

"The worst. Pregnancy brain is the worst this time around" Gabriella said sitting next to Grace on the couch.

"Did you eat? There are leftovers in the fridge" Troy said.

"I grabbed a salad. But I should probably eat something else" Gabriella said.

Gabriella got up and walked into the kitchen and pulled out the leftovers and ate. After she finished, Gabriella walked back into the living room and sat down in her previous spot.

"How are you feeling today?" Troy asked.

"Tired and achy" Gabriella said.

"Why don't you go upstairs and take a bath? I'll put them to bed" Troy said.

"I've been gone all day and haven't seen them" Gabriella said.

"Mommy, you need to take care of my baby sister" Grace said looking at her mother.

Gabriella smiled. Troy chuckled.

"That's my girl! High-five Gracie" Troy said holding his hand out.

Grace gave Troy a high-five. Gabriella shook her head and looked at Logan.

"Do you agree with them too Logan?" Gabriella asked.

Logan held both his hands out basically telling that he didn't know.

"Smart kid. I have done my job" Troy said.

Gabriella shook her head.

"Wait a minute, do you think the baby is a girl?" Gabriella asked.

"I want a baby sister" Grace said.

"We will see" Gabriella said.

Later that night, Troy walked into the bedroom and smiled when he saw Gabriella already in bed. He took his shirt and pants off and climbed into bed. Gabriella turned over and opened her eyes.

"Hey, go back to sleep. Sorry that I woke you up. I was trying to be quiet" Troy said.

"Do you regret having kids so young?" Gabriella asked randomly.

Troy turned on the bedside lamp and sat up.

"What?" Troy asked.

"Do you regret having kids so young?" Gabriella repeated.

"Gabriella, where did that come from?" Troy asked.

"Myself" Gabriella said.

"To answer your question, no. I don't regret anything. Yes, we had kids young. But we grew up. Grace made us grow up. Yeah, I wish we had waited until we were out of school to have kids. But that didn't happen. Baby, where did that come from?" Troy asked.

"I was just thinking. But also it's pregnancy brain talking too" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"We dealt with the issue when it came up. We grew up overnight. But we still got to be kids. We went to school and graduated. We did everything out of order but still got it done" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I think you are exhausted. Go back to sleep baby. We can talk about this tomorrow" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips and fell asleep. A couple weeks later, Gabriella walked downstairs and smiled when she saw Grace and Logan watching television.

"What are you watching?" Gabriella asked.

"Cartoons" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled and walked into the kitchen and saw Troy turning the coffee maker on. She walked over to her husband and kissed his cheek. Troy smiled.

"Good morning" Troy said.

"Good morning" Gabriella said.

"How are you feeling today? You got up early" Troy said.

"Morning sickness decided to wake me up extra early today" Gabriella said.

"Do you want me to make you some tea?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

Baby is starting to grow though" Gabriella said.

"Really? Isn't it still early?" Troy asked.

"I mean with Grace I started showing early" Gabriella said.

"True. How things have changed" Troy said.

 _Flashback_

" _Hey baby, how are you feeling?" Troy asked smoothing her hair back._

" _I'm getting fat" Gabriella cried._

 _Troy's eyes softened._

" _Baby, you are not fat. You aren't even showing" Troy said._

" _You haven't seen her out of bed today. Honey, show Troy" Maria said._

 _Gabriella choked out a sob. Troy looked at his girlfriend and felt horrible that he wasn't in bed when she woke up._

" _Stand up for me Brie. Let me see" Troy said softly._

 _Gabriella sat up and then stood up. She turned to the side and Troy saw the smallest baby bump forming on Gabriella's stomach. Troy stood up and opened his arms and Gabriella walked into them. She wrapped her arms tightly around her boyfriend._

 _End of Flashback_

Gabriella smiled and nodded.

"Can I see?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kneeled down in front of Gabriella and lifted her shirt, exposing her stomach. He smiled when he saw the slight bump. Troy kissed it softly.

"Hi baby, daddy's here" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. Troy placed one last kiss on Gabriella's expanding bump before letting her shirt fall over it. He stood up and smiled.

"Maybe this one is going to be bigger than the other two" Troy said.

Gabriella shrugged.

"Hopefully not" Gabriella said.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"I have to get ready for work" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I asked Chad if he wanted to get a game going after work. I may be home a little late" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Troy and Gabriella got ready for work. That afternoon, Troy walked through Chad's gate and smiled when he saw his best friend already doing free throws.

"Working on that jump shot?" Troy asked.

Chad turned around and smiled.

"Always. How's it going?" Chad asked shaking his best friend's hand.

"Fine. Gabriella and the kids are good" Troy said.

"Did Gabs go to the doctor to get checked out?" Chad asked.

Troy nodded.

"She got the all-clear a couple weeks ago" Troy said.

"That's great, hoops. Is she starting to relax?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, but she's being Gabriella. She always wants to be one step ahead. She knows the baby is okay but she is still cautious" Troy said.

Chad nodded.

"Is she worried that it will happen again?" Chad asked.

"Yeah. It shook her up and now she's just trying to do everything she can to avoid it. I feel helpless at times because yes, I am the father of the baby and Gabriella's husband. But I don't know what it's like to have a baby living inside of me and then it sudden isn't there anymore" Troy said.

"I get that. All you can do is be there when she needs you" Chad said.

"I know. Let's get a game going" Troy said.

Chad smiled and nodded. The two men started playing. A couple hours later, Troy walked into the house and smiled when he saw Logan talking to Gabriella.

"Hey guys" Troy said.

"Hey, how's Chad?" Gabriella asked.

"Fine. How are you feeling?" Troy asked sitting down next to his wife.

"I threw up again" Gabriella said.

"Why?" Troy asked.

"I think it was the scent of something" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Are you feeling better?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Yeah, I just need to take it easy" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Mommy?" Logan asked.

"Yeah?" Gabriella asked looking at her son.

"When the baby comes will you forget about me?" Logan asked.

Gabriella's face softened and tears filled her eyes. She looked at Troy, who kissed her head.

"Logan look at mommy" Gabriella said.

Logan looked at his mother.

"I will never, ever forget about you. You are my baby. Just because daddy and I are going to have another baby doesn't mean we will forget about you. We love you so much" Gabriella said as tears ran down her cheeks silently.

"Grace felt the same way when you were in mommy's tummy" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Really?" Logan asked.

"She was worried that we would love you more and forget about her" Gabriella said.

"You can always talk to us if you are afraid of when the baby comes" Logan said.

Logan nodded. The couple talked to Logan about the baby for a little while longer. A couple days later, Gabriella walked into the house after a long day at work. She was exhausted. Gabriella walked into the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea and walked upstairs. She went into the bedroom and changed out of her work clothes and into a pair of sweats and one of Troy's t-shirts. Gabriella got into bed and fell asleep. A couple hours later, Troy walked into the house with Grace and Logan.

"Brie?" Troy called.

Silence filled the house. He knew that Gabriella was home because her car was in the driveway. Troy walked upstairs and went into the bedroom and smiled. Gabriella was in bed, the covers covering her like a fort. He walked over to the bed and saw that Gabriella was sleeping soundly, with her hand on her little baby bump. Troy kissed Gabriella's head softly. Gabriella's eyes opened slowly.

"Go back to sleep baby. I was just checking on you. We just got home and I was calling your name" Troy said.

"Mm" Gabriella mumbled.

"Are you feeling alright?" Troy asked.

"Long day at work and I'm exhausted" Gabriella explained.

Troy nodded.

"Morning sickness?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"But that was earlier. I just feel like I walked around an amusement park for a whole day" Gabriella said.

"Okay. Do you need me to do anything?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"No. But thank you for asking" Gabriella said.

"Mommy" Logan said.

Troy looked at the door and saw both Grace and Logan standing at the bedroom door.

"Guys, go downstairs and play okay? Mommy doesn't feel very well. I'll be down in a minute" Troy said.

"What's wrong mommy?" Grace asked.

"Grace, take Logan downstairs please" Troy said.

Grace and Logan left the room. Troy turned back and looked at Gabriella.

"I've never felt this sick with them" Gabriella said.

"You are getting older and things are more sensitive than when you were pregnant with them" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.

"You should go downstairs and talk to them" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Call me if you need me okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and snuggled into the sheets. Troy walked out of the room and went downstairs. This is how being pregnant with Grace should have been.


	11. I Can't Ever Get A Break

A couple days later, Gabriella was waiting in Dr. Brand's office waiting for Troy to arrive from the gym. There was a knock on the door and Troy opened the door and stuck his head in and smiled.

"Hi baby" Troy said walking into the room and shutting the door behind him.

"Hi" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"How was the gym?" Gabriella asked.

"Good. I saw a couple people from Red Hawks there" Troy said.

"Oh. Did you talk to them?" Gabriella asked.

"For a little bit just to catch up. How are you feeling?" Troy asked.

"Good. A little tired. But, it's probably because Grace climbed into bed with me as soon as you left" Gabriella said.

"She didn't let you sleep?" Troy asked.

"She did. But, she's like you. She likes to spread out when she sleeps. I woke up and her feet were on my chest.

Troy chuckled. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came into the room and smiled.

"Hi guys" Dr. Brand said.

"Hi" the couple said simultaneously.

"How are you feeling?" Dr. Brand asked.

"Tired" Gabriella said.

"I see the baby bump is growing" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella looked down at her small, expanding bump and smiled and nodded.

"Is the morning sickness slowing down?" Dr. Brand asked opening Gabriella's chart and writing down notes.

"Very slowly, but yes" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and looked at Gabriella.

"Any cramps?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"No bleeding?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella and Troy both shook their head.

"Good. No stomach pain?" Dr. Brand asked.

"No" Gabriella said.

"Great. Let's take a look" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella lied down on the exam table. Her hand found Troy's and they instantly entwined their fingers together. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek. Gabriella looked at Troy and smiled slightly. Dr. Brand put a blanket over Gabriella's legs and pulled her gown above her expanding bump. She turned on the ultrasound and let it heat up. Once it was heated, Dr. Brand squeezed some gel onto Gabriella's stomach and took a wand and moved it around. She and the couple looked at the screen. Dr. Brand pointed to the screen and smiled.

"See that dot right there?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"That's your baby" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella and Troy smiled.

"Is it healthy?" Gabriella asked.

Dr. Brand moved the wand around Gabriella's stomach and looked at the screen. Her brow furrowed as she looked closer at the monitor. Gabriella saw that instantly.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked.

Dr. Brand looked at the screen and then pressed a couple keys on the keyboard and nodded.

"Dr. Brand?" Gabriella asked.

Dr. Brand looked at a worried Gabriella. She smiled sympathetically.

"Honey, why don't you change first and then we will talk okay?" Dr. Brand suggested.

Gabriella nodded worriedly. Dr. Brand wiped the gel off of Gabriella's stomach with a towel and left the exam room. Gabriella changed back into her clothes and looked at Troy.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at Gabriella, who had her hand on her bump.

"Baby, just relax okay? Dr. Brand will come in and talk to us" Troy said.

There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came back into the room and sat down on a stool.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked again.

"Gabi, the baby is breech" Dr. Brand said.

"What does that mean?" Troy asked.

"It means that instead of the head coming out first, the feet are" Dr. Brand explained.

"Is that bad?" Troy asked.

"The head is supposed to come first as you recall. It would be ideal to have the baby be head first instead of feet first" Dr. Brand said.

"So what do we do?" Troy asked knowing Gabriella was probably in shock and wanted to ask what he thought would be going through her head.

"We can turn the baby to the correct position. But it has risks. We can wait and see if the baby flips back to a normal position" Dr. Brand said.

"What if the baby doesn't flip back to where it's supposed to be?" Troy asked.

"It's up to you. Gabriella could try and have the baby like Grace and Logan or she can opt to have a c-section" Dr. Brand said.

"Is it in danger?" Gabriella asked.

"No. But we just have to come up with a plan that in the event that you get to full-term and the baby is still breech" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded. Dr. Brand finished talking to the couple. Gabriella and Troy walked out of the office and got into the car. Troy looked at Gabriella.

"Babe, you okay?" Troy asked gently.

Gabriella started to cry. Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and let her cry into his chest.

"Brie, look at me" Troy said.

Gabriella tried to pull herself together and looked at Troy.

"The baby could turn. We have to be positive" Troy said.

"I'm so scared" Gabriella said.

"I know you are baby. But, like Dr. Brand said, the baby could turn and everything could be fine. The worst case scenario is that it doesn't turn and you have a c-section" Troy said.

"I think I'm just in shock" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"You have me and our families. Everything is going to be fine. Whether the baby turns or not, everything will be fine" Troy said.

"Can we go to mom's? I want to tell her" Gabriella said.

"Yeah" Troy said.

Troy drove to his parent's house and parked the car. The couple got out. Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and kissed her lips.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

The couple walked into the house.

"Mom?" Troy called.

Lucille came into the living room and knew something was wrong.

"What happened?" Lucille asked.

Troy looked at Gabriella, who nodded. He put his arm around Gabriella's shoulder.

"We went to Dr. Brand's today and found out some news" Troy said.

"What news?" Lucille asked.

"When she was doing the ultrasound, she saw that the baby was breech" Troy said.

Lucille's face softened.

"Gabi, are you okay?" Lucille asked knowing she was probably upset.

"I'm scared and kind of in shock" Gabriella said.

"What's the plan for when she has to deliver the baby?" Lucille asked.

"She said that if the baby doesn't turn then we have to make a decision to let Brie have the baby like Logan and Grace or to have a c-section" Troy said.

Lucille sighed.

"Let me know if you want me to do anything. I can take the kids for a night or two" Lucille said.

The couple nodded.

"We'll think about it. We are still processing it" Gabriella said.

"Alright honey" Lucille said.

The couple and their children went home. That night, Troy walked downstairs after waking up and not seeing Gabriella sleeping next to him. He went into the living room and saw Gabriella lying down on the couch, tears running down her face and her hands folded on her expanding bump. Troy walked over to the couch and sat on the edge.

"Baby, are you alright?" Troy asked softly.

"What if things don't go as planned and the baby doesn't turn, Troy? I don't want to have a c-section" Gabriella said.

Troy's face softened.

"Sweetheart, listen to me. You heard what Dr. Brand said. If the baby doesn't turn, we have two options. You can have the baby like you did with Grace and Logan or a c-section. I know you don't want that, but we have to look at the whole situation. We have to keep our options open. I've started reading about c-sections" Troy said putting his hand on Gabriella's expanding bump.

"And what did you find?" Gabriella asked.

"I can be with you the whole time" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I would want you there with me" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"They will give you medication that will make you not feel anything" Troy said.

"I'll be awake" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"That's what scares me the most. Being awake and hearing Dr. Brand and whoever else will be in there talking about things that are happening" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek softly.

"The baby will be out faster than if you had it like before" Troy said.

"I'll have stitches" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Let's keep our options open okay? If the baby is in danger, we need to do whatever it takes to keep it safe" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Come on, come back to bed" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed. Troy stood up and offered Gabriella's his hands, which she gratefully took. He carefully pulled Gabriella up off the couch. Troy held Gabriella in his arms for a minute. They both stood in silence taking in all that they had endured that day. Troy kissed Gabriella's forehead softly.

"I love you and I am going to keep you and the baby safe okay?" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

The couple went upstairs and went to bed. The next day, Troy woke up and smiled when he saw Gabriella still sleeping. He got up quietly and walked out of the bedroom and smiled when he saw Grace and Logan playing quietly in Grace's room. Troy walked into his daughter's room.

"What are you guys doing?" Troy asked.

"Playing. Where's mommy?" Grace asked.

"Mommy is still sleeping. The baby is making her really tired" Troy said.

"Why?" Logan asked.

Troy smiled.

"Because the baby is growing inside mommy's tummy" Troy said.

"Oh" Logan said.

Troy smiled. An hour later, Troy heard footsteps behind him and he turned his head and smiled.

"Good morning baby" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Morning" Gabriella said leaning down to kiss Troy's lips.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked as Gabriella sat down on the ground next to Troy.

"Okay. Just feel like I need to sleep" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Mommy, when will the baby come out?" Logan asked.

Gabriella smiled and opened her arms. Logan sat down in Gabriella's lap.

"In a few months. He or she needs to grow a little more before it can come out" Gabriella said.

"Oh" Logan said.

Gabriella smiled.

"What time do you go in to work today?" Gabriella asked.

"Ten" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy's phone rang. He got up and walked over to it and picked it up. Ten minutes later, Troy came back into Grace's room.

"Babe, I need to run to mom's. I'll be home as soon as I can" Troy said.

"What's going on?" Gabriella asked.

"My dad said that she was in the kitchen and she lost her footing and fell backwards and blacked out. An ambulance came and took her to the hospital" Troy explained.

"Do you want me to call in for you?" Gabriella asked.

"I will on my way to the hospital" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"Call me if anything changes" Gabriella said.

"I will. Love you" Troy said.

"Love you baby" Gabriella said.

"Bye guys" Troy said.

"Bye daddy" Logan and Grace said simultaneously.

Troy left the house and got into his car and took a deep breath and released it. She lost her footing? Troy thought. He shook his head and started driving to the hospital. Ten minutes later, Troy arrived at the hospital. He walked into the emergency room and went to the front desk, but saw Jack walking towards him.

"He's with me" Jack said.

The receptionist nodded and gave Troy a visitor sticker. Troy put the sticker onto his shirt and followed his father.

"What happened?" Troy asked.

"She was in the kitchen and my back was to her so I didn't see her fall. All I saw was that her eyes closed and she was on the ground. I called 911 and the ambulance came and here we are" Jack explained.

Troy took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Is she awake?" Troy asked.

"They won't tell me anything. They said that someone will come out and talk to us when they know what's going on" Jack said.

Troy nodded. An hour later, a doctor, who looked to be about forty years old with dark brown hair came out to the waiting room.

"Family of Lucille Bolton" the doctor said.

Troy and Jack stood up and walked toward the doctor.

"Hi I'm Dr. Lewis. I have been working on Lucille's case" Dr. Lewis said.

"Hi" Troy and Jack said simultaneously.

The three men walked into a small office. Dr. Lewis closed the door and motioned for Troy and Jack to sit down.

"Are you her husband and son?" Dr. Lewis asked.

Troy and Jack nodded.

"What happened?" Troy asked.

"Your mom had a small stroke. Her body went numb and she lost her balance and that's why she fell" Dr. Lewis explained.

"What is your perception of small?" Jack asked.

"As of a couple minutes ago when I checked on her, her face wasn't drooping on one side or both. But that's only a guess. We gave her something to help her relax and now she's asleep. We will be able to see the magnitude of the stroke when she wakes up" Dr. Lewis said.

"But isn't a stroke something that happens to older people? My mom's not that old" Troy said.

"It can happen to anyone. It also has to do with stress and other types of things" Dr. Lewis said.

Troy took a deep breath and released it.

"So now we just wait until she wakes up?" Jack asked.

"I'll slowly lower the medication dose and she will begin to wake up. But I ask for you both to not overwhelm her with questions or anything like that. She may not even know what happened" Dr. Lewis said.

Troy and Jack nodded.

"Thank you" Jack said.

Dr. Lewis brought the two men to Lucille's hospital room. Troy and Jack sat down in two chairs that were next to the bed. Dr. Lewis left the room.

"I have to call Brie and tell her what's going on" Troy said.

"Go ahead" Jack said.

Troy stepped out the hospital room and took his phone out. He called his wife and waited for her to answer.

"What's going on baby? Is she okay?" Gabriella asked.

"Hey, slow down. The doctor just came and talked to dad and I. He said that she had a small stroke and he gave her something to help her relax" Troy explained.

"Stroke? But she's young" Gabriella said.

"That's what I said. But he said that it could happen to anyone" Troy said.

"So what's going to happen now?" Gabriella asked.

"He gave her something to help her relax and sleep and he said he was going to lower the dosage of the medication. When he lowers the medication, she will slowly wake up. He doesn't know the magnitude of the stroke because she needs to be awake to tell" Troy explained.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to come down there?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm okay. I'm just trying to wrap my head around this. Is mom working?" Troy asked.

"She's home. I can call her and she can come watch the kids" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

"I love you Troy" Gabriella said.

"I love you too Brie. See you soon" Troy said.

The couple hung up and Troy walked back into the hospital room and sat down in his previous spot.

"Did you tell Gabi?" Jack asked.

Troy nodded.

"She's dropping the kids off at Maria's and then coming here" Troy said.

"Okay" Jack said.

Troy sighed.

"How did this happen?" Troy asked.

Jack shrugged.

"Troy, it was going to happen at some point" Jack said.

"She's not old though. That's what is what's frustrating me" Troy said.

There was a knock on the hospital room door and Gabriella poked her head in. Troy turned around and smiled.

"Hi Gabs" Jack said.

Gabriella gave Jack a small smile.

"Hi dad. Has she woken up yet?" Gabriella asked putting her hand on Troy's shoulder.

"Not yet" Jack said.

Gabriella looked at Troy, who looked at her.

"Want to take a walk? I'm sure you need a break" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Do you need anything dad?" Troy asked.

Jack shook his head.

"No. You guys go get some air" Jack said.

Troy stood up and the couple left the hospital room. Gabriella entwined their fingers together and started walking around the hospital.

"You okay?" Gabriella asked.

"I can't lose her" Troy said.

Gabriella stopped walking and stepped in front of her husband. She put both hands on both sides of his face.

"Troy, listen to me baby. We don't know how bad this is until she wakes up. We can't jump to conclusions. Like what you said about the baby. If the baby turns or just stays in the same position, everything is going to be okay. I know you are hurting. If anyone knows what it feels like, it's me. But you have to be strong for her" Gabriella said.

Troy took a deep breath and released it. He then placed a kiss on Gabriella's lips.

"Thank you" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"It's my job" Gabriella said.

"Did you tell mom?" Troy asked.

"No. I just said that there was a medical emergency" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. The couple walked around the hospital and then walked back to Lucille's hospital room. Troy pulled out another chair for Gabriella and they both sat down next to Jack.

"Still nothing?" Troy asked.

"She's starting to wake up but hasn't opened her eyes yet" Jack said.

Troy nodded. An hour later, Lucille slowly opened her eyes and she looked around the room, confused of why she was lying in a hospital bed. Troy saw his mother open her eyes and smiled. He stood up and sat on the edge of the bed. Jack had left a half hour earlier to go take a nap.

"Hi mom. How are you feeling?" Troy asked.

Lucille moaned.

"Can you talk to me?" Troy asked.

"Tr…o…y" Lucille managed to get out.

"Yeah, it's me. Dad just left to get some sleep. Do you know what happened?" Troy asked.

Lucille shook her head. Troy swallowed hard.

"You had a small stroke" Troy said.

Lucille's eyes widened and her breathing rate increased.

"Relax, you are okay. I'm going to go get the doctor and he can tell you more okay? Brie is here if you need anything" Troy said.

Lucille nodded. Troy walked out of the room. He leaned against the wall right outside of his mother's hospital room and released the tears he had been holding in. He never expected this and didn't understand why he couldn't get a break.


	12. Different Strokes

Troy pulled himself together and walked to the nurse's station. Dr. Lewis looked up and smiled sympathetically at Troy.

"She's awake" Troy said.

"Alright, let's go check it out" Dr. Lewis said.

The two men walked to Lucille's hospital room. Dr. Lewis looked at Lucille and smiled.

"Hi Lucille, I'm Dr. Lewis. Do you know what happened?" Dr. Lewis asked.

"Tr…o….y to…ld me" Lucille said.

Gabriella saw how frustrated Troy was when he listened to Lucille speak. She stood up carefully and wrapped her arm around his waist supportively. Troy put his arm around Gabriella and looked at her, grateful that she had come to the hospital.

"I'm going to check you out and see the magnitude of the stroke okay?" Dr. Lewis said.

"K" Lucille said simply.

"You guys can wait in the hall for a minute" Dr. Lewis said.

The couple nodded and walked out of the hospital room. Once they were sitting down, Gabriella looked at Troy.

"Baby, talk to me" Gabriella said.

"What if she doesn't recover from this?" Troy asked.

"You have to believe that she is going to Troy. You have to be strong for her. I know that it's hard to watch, but it's the best thing for her" Gabriella said.

"Did you feel the same when your dad died?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I was in denial for a long time. But, I knew that above everything, he would have wanted me to be strong for him because he couldn't do it himself" Gabriella said getting choked up.

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and cried himself. A couple minutes later, Dr. Lewis came out of the room.

"You guys can go back in" Dr. Lewis said.

"How bad was it?" Troy asked.

"It hit her pretty hard. She's going to need assistance for a while" Dr. Lewis said.

"Do you think she will recover from this?" Troy asked.

"It's possible. Only time will tell" Dr. Lewis said.

Troy nodded.

"Thank you" Troy said.

Dr. Lewis nodded. The couple saw Jack walking back towards Lucille's room.

"What did I miss?" Jack asked.

"Doctor just checked her out and said that the stroke hit her hard and she needs to have assistance" Troy explained.

"Will she recover?" Jack asked.

"Hopefully with time" Troy said.

Jack ran his fingers through his hair.

"So what do we do?" Jack asked.

"We need to get some sort of assistance to come to the house" Troy said.

"When is he going to release her?" Jack asked.

"I don't know" Troy said.

"Let's sleep on all this information and talk about it tomorrow" Jack said.

Troy and Gabriella nodded. The couple and Jack left the hospital. Troy and Gabriella drove home and walked into the house.

"How is she?" Maria asked.

"She's slurring her speech. We don't know what else has been affected yet" Troy said.

"Are you okay?" Maria asked.

"I think I just need some sleep" Troy said.

Grace walked over to her father and smiled.

"Daddy" Grace said.

Troy smiled and kneeled down.

"What's up baby?" Troy asked.

"Is mama going to be okay?" Grace asked.

Troy smiled slightly.

"She's going to be fine. Don't worry okay?" Troy said putting a stray hair behind her ear.

Grace nodded.

"Come on, let's get you in bed" Troy said.

Troy took his daughter's hand and walked upstairs. Once out of earshot, Maria looked at Gabriella.

"It's really bothering him" Gabriella said.

"As it should. When your dad died, it bothered you too" Maria said.

Gabriella nodded.

"All you can do is be there for support, Gabi" Maria said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I just hate to see him like this. He puts on a brave face but I know that he's hurting" Gabriella said.

Maria smiled slightly.

"Both of you get some sleep. You especially. You are carrying my grandchild" Maria said.

"Thanks for watching them" Gabriella said.

"No problem. Call me if you need me" Maria said.

Gabriella nodded. Maria left the house. Gabriella walked upstairs and went into Grace's room and saw Grace in bed and Troy lying next to her, on top of the covers.

"What are you guys doing?" Gabriella asked.

"Talking about mama" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Can I go to mama and papa's house tomorrow?" Grace asked.

"Baby, mama is in the hospital and papa has to take care of her" Gabriella explained gently.

"I miss mama" Grace said.

"I miss her too bug. You know what would make her really happy though?" Troy asked.

"What?" Grace asked.

"She loves when you draw her pictures. Tomorrow you can draw her something and I can give it to her. How does that sound?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"Okay. But before then, you need to go to sleep" Troy said getting off Grace's bed carefully.

Gabriella kissed her daughter's head and Troy did the same.

"Night Grace. We love you" Gabriella said.

Gabriella turned off the light and the couple walked out of the bedroom and into their bedroom. Troy took his shirt off and fell onto the bed. Gabriella smiled. She knew that Troy was physically and emotionally exhausted from the day's events. Gabriella changed into her pajamas and saw Troy still in the same position on the bed. She climbed onto the bed and straddled him. Gabriella started massaging her husband's back and smiled when she heard him moan in pleasure.

"I needed this so much" Troy mumbled.

"I know" Gabriella said continuing to massage his back.

Ten minutes later, Gabriella got off of Troy and lied down next to him.

"You okay?" Gabriella asked.

"A lot of things going through my head. A lot of decisions that I have to make" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"If you need help with any of that babe, just ask me" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I don't want you to get stressed out over it too" Troy said putting his hand on Gabriella's expanding bump.

"I won't. She's my mom too. I want to make sure that she has all that she needs" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Thank you. If you hadn't come to the hospital I would have been a wreck" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly. She put her hand on the side of Troy's face.

"I would never let you do it alone" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"I just can't believe it was a stroke" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"You need to get some sleep baby. You are going to have another long day tomorrow" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I love you Brie. Thank you for everything" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

The couple fell asleep. The next morning, Troy's phone rang, waking him and Gabriella up.

"And so it starts" Troy mumbled.

Troy got out of bed and saw that Gabriella was awake.

"Go back to sleep babe. I just need to take this call" Troy said.

Gabriella closed her eyes. Troy walked out of the bedroom.

"Hello?" Troy answered.

"Hey, Dr. Lewis called and said that he did a couple more tests" Jack said.

"What did he find?" Troy asked wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"He said that she has a little trouble walking. He called and set up physical therapy for her" Jack said.

"Is her speech still slurred?" Troy asked.

"A little bit" Jack said.

"Are they going to discharge her?" Troy asked.

"Yes. Whenever you are free, we can both go over there and pick her up" Jack said.

"Okay. Let me get dressed and I will be over there" Troy said.

The two men hung up the phone. Troy walked back into the bedroom. Gabriella opened her eyes and looked at Troy.

"You are supposed to be sleeping" Troy said lovingly.

"I couldn't sleep anymore. Who was on the phone?" Gabriella asked.

"Dad. He said that Dr. Lewis called and he did some more tests. She is having trouble walking so he set up physical therapy for her. They are going to release her today" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Gabriella asked.

Troy shook her head.

"You spent all day at the hospital yesterday. Today you need to rest" Troy said.

Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips softly.

"If you need me to come down there, I will" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I just need to figure this out on my own right now. I have so much- "Troy started.

"Hey, I understand Troy. I know you are scared out of your mind right now. That's why I want to help. Even if it's just sitting with mom. I will do it" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and nodded.

"When we get her settled at home, I will call you okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Thank you sweetheart. For understanding" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"It's kind of my job" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I love you. If you need me, call" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy left the house and drove to the hospital. A couple hours later, Jack and Troy sat in the living room of the Bolton home, exhausted of what they had just endured.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked.

"She can't even walk. How does that happen?" Troy asked.

"Troy, we didn't know how bad it was going to be. With time and therapy, mom will be strong again" Jack said.

"I think I am still in shock" Troy said.

"As to be expected. You are only twenty-two" Jack said.

Troy nodded.

"I didn't think I would have to think about these types of things for a couple more decades" Troy said.

"Me either, but it's happening" Jack said.

"Brie wanted me to call her when we got her settled. She wanted to come see mom" Troy said.

Jack nodded. Troy called Gabriella, who came over immediately.

"Hi dad. How was getting her home?" Gabriella asked.

"It was rough. But we did it" Jack said.

Troy nodded.

"How are you feeling today? Did you go back to sleep?" Troy asked placing his hand on Gabriella's stomach.

Gabriella smiled.

"I feel fine. I went back to sleep until Logan crawled in bed with me" Gabriella said.

"It's either one or the other" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled.

"Is she in the bedroom?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. The couple walked into the bedroom. Troy pulled a chair from the desk in the room and put it next to the bed for Gabriella to sit down. Gabriella sat down and looked at her second mother.

"Hi mom" Gabriella said sweetly.

Lucille turned slowly and smiled at Gabriella.

"Ga..bi" Lucille said.

Gabriella smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm here. How are you feeling?" Gabriella asked.

"Like…I've…be…en hit….by…a…tr..uck" Lucille said.

Gabriella felt tears come to her eyes. She put her hand on top of Lucille's.

"Grace told me to tell you that she misses you and wants to come and see you and dad soon" Gabriella said.

Lucille smiled.

"I…miss…her….too" Lucille said.

"I'm going to let you rest okay?" Gabriella said.

Before Gabriella could get up, Lucille took Gabriella's hand and kissed it.

"Love…you" Lucille said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Gabriella walked out of the bedroom. Troy followed her and took her into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head softly and sway side to side slightly.

"It's okay" Troy said softly.

"I don't know if this is partially the hormones or the fact that I'm upset about all of this" Gabriella said.

"You're pregnant. But it's also overwhelming" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's head.

"I love you too baby. We just have to give her the help she needs" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Let's go home" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

The couple went into the living room and said goodbye to Jack and drove home. The couple walked into the house and smiled when they saw Grace running towards them. Gabriella carefully lifted her onto her hip.

"Did you have fun with grandma?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded.

"Did you tell mama that I want to go visit her?" Grace asked.

"We did. She said that she wants you to come over when she's better" Gabriella said.

"I want to go now though mommy" Grace said starting to cry.

Gabriella put her hand on her daughter's head and looked at Troy. Troy walked over to the two girls and kissed Grace's head softly.

"Baby, mama is sick and she needs to get better before you can go over to her house" Gabriella said trying to explain Lucille's condition in a way that a five-year-old would understand.

"Can she take medicine for it?" Grace asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"No baby. She just needs to take a lot of naps and be with daddy and papa right now" Gabriella said.

"When will she be better?" Grace asked.

"I don't know. But I bet that she will get better faster if you draw her some pictures and make her a nice card" Gabriella said wiping the tears from her daughter's eyes.

"Really?" Grace asked.

Troy smiled slightly.

"She loves your pictures and your cards, Grace" Troy said.

"I want to draw one right now for her" Grace said.

The couple smiled. Gabriella put Grace back on the ground and watched her run to the kitchen and start drawing her picture.

"Maybe I will bring her with me later when I go check on mom" Troy said.

"Do you think it's a good idea?" Gabriella asked.

"Mom may get better or she could get worse. I don't want Grace to not be with mom if this is the beginning of the end" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"But she is also five, Troy. We have to consider that part. She's attached to mom and if she sees her like that, she may freak out" Gabriella said.

"If it was you-" Troy started.

"I held my dad's hand when he died and it gives me nightmares. I don't want Grace, who is five, to have to deal with that. I'm not saying that I don't want her to see mom, I just think we should wait a while and see what the situation is" Gabriella said.

"She's not going to understand why she can't go see mom. Can't we just see how it goes and take it from there? Grace will keep asking and you know that she will" Troy said.

"I just don't want her to get hurt. That's all" Gabriella said.

"I know baby. She has a relationship with mom and I don't think that we should take that away from her because this happened. I don't want her to get hurt either. But we have to figure this out sooner or later" Troy said.

"If you want her to see mom, then you can take her to see her. I'm just trying to explain how I feel because I was close to my dad and was there when he died and the pain was something that I could never go through again. That's why I didn't want Grace to go" Gabriella said.

"I'll talk to her about it and make sure that she understands what is happening" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"So I can take her with me?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled slightly and kissed Gabriella's cheek. An hour later, Troy was driving to the hospital with Grace in the back seat.

"Baby, we need to talk about mama for a minute" Troy said.

"We are going to see mama" Grace said.

"Yeah. Grace, mama is kind of sick right now and she may not look or act the same as she used to. But she loves you and she isn't doing it on purpose okay?" Troy said.

"Okay daddy" Grace said.

"If you get scared, let me know okay?" Troy said.

Grace nodded. Troy pulled into his parent's house and parked his car. He got out of the car and helped Grace get out. The two walked hand in hand to the front door. Troy unlocked the door with his spare key and he and Grace walked in.

"Dad?" Troy called.

Jack walked into the living room and smiled.

"Hey big girl!" Jack said.

Grace jumped into Jack's arms.

"Miss me?" Jack asked.

Grace nodded.

"Where's mama?" Grace asked.

"She's upstairs. Do you want to go see her? Troy, is that okay?" Jack asked looking at his son.

"I was going to take her up there" Troy said.

"Okay. Let me know if you need anything" Jack said.

Troy nodded. He took Grace's hand and the father daughter duo walked upstairs to the master bedroom. Troy looked at Grace and kneeled down to her level.

"Remember what I told you baby. If you get scared, let me know" Troy said.

Grace nodded.

"Alright, let's go in" Troy said.

Troy and Grace walked into the bedroom.

"Mom, I brought a special person with me" Troy said.

Lucille looked at Troy and then at Grace and smiled slightly.

"Gr..ace" Lucille said.

Grace looked up at Troy, who smiled at her. Troy sat down in the chair that was next to the bed and lifted Grace onto his lap.

"She wanted to come see you" Troy said.

"Th…an..k y…ou f..or com..ing ho..ney" Lucille said.

Troy looked at Grace, who looked at her grandmother with scared eyes. He kissed her head softly. Grace looked at her father.

"Can I go with papa?" Grace asked.

Troy nodded. Grace left the room.

"I..did..n't me..an to sc…are he..r" Lucille said.

"She's a little girl, mom. She sees something that she isn't used to and got scared. She's okay" Troy said.

Troy talked to his mother for a few more minutes and went downstairs.

"You okay?" Troy asked sitting next to his daughter.

"She can't talk" Grace said.

Troy nodded.

"She's just sick baby. Once we get her better, she won't talk like that" Troy said.

Grace nodded. Troy and Grace talked to Jack for a little while longer. Troy hoped everything would turn out fine.


	13. Balancing Equations

A couple days later, Gabriella walked into the house and smiled when she saw Troy sleeping on the couch. He had been going back and forth from their house to his parent's nonstop for the last few days. Gabriella walked over to her husband and placed a kiss on Troy's forehead. His eyes opened and he sat up instantly.

"Hey, relax. Nothing happened. I was just going to tell you that I was home" Gabriella said.

Troy lied back down on the couch.

"I had an appointment with Dr. Brand today" Gabriella said.

"Why didn't you tell me? I would have gone with you" Troy said feeling horrible that he missed Gabriella's prenatal appointment.

"Baby, you have going back and forth from our house to mom's. You haven't been sleeping. I didn't want to add another thing that you have to think about" Gabriella said.

"I'm sorry I missed it" Troy said.

"Don't worry about it. Everything's fine. The baby is healthy she said. She asked if we wanted to find out the sex but I told her that you needed to be there for that" Gabriella said.

"I'm really sorry, Brie. I haven't been- "Troy started.

"I know and you don't have to explain. It's okay" Gabriella said.

Troy sat up and leaned in and kissed her lips.

"How's mom today?" Gabriella asked.

"She's up and down. The physical therapist came and mom was getting frustrated" Troy said.

"Did the therapist make her get out of bed?" Gabriella asked.

"Not yet. That's the main goal right now" Troy said.

"What did dad say?" Gabriella asked.

"He's like me. We had to listen to her in pain and we didn't like it" Troy said.

"You knew it was going to be hard" Gabriella said.

"I didn't think it would be this hard" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly and kissed Troy's lips. She then pulled out the sonogram from her purse and handed it to Troy. Troy looked at the sonogram and smiled. He kissed it and held it to his heart.

"When are you going to go back to mom's?" Gabriella asked.

"In a little while. I told Grace I would take her for a walk after her nap" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I haven't been seeing them either" Troy said feeling guilty.

"Troy, there are a lot of things going on right now. You can't do them all at once. Grace knows that mom is sick. She even asked me if you were over there and I told her yes" Gabriella said.

"I just feel like everything stopped when this happened. I've been just so focused on trying to get mom comfortable and what she needs and I haven't been focused on what I have to do" Troy said.

"It was a shock. We didn't know this was going to happen. We couldn't prepare for it. You are doing the best you can and I know that mom appreciates what you are doing" Gabriella said.

Troy took a deep breath and released it. Gabriella kissed Troy's cheek softly.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too. Thank you for holding everything together while I have been dealing with all of this stuff" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and kissed Troy's lips again.

"I do it because I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. An hour later, Grace came downstairs after she woke up from her nap. Troy heard footsteps come into the living room.

"Hey bug, how was your nap?" Troy asked looking at Grace.

"Good" Grace said.

"You want to go on a walk with me?" Troy asked.

"Okay" Grace said.

"Go get your shoes on and we will go" Troy said.

Grace ran upstairs to get her shoes. A couple minutes later, she came downstairs.

"Ready" Grace said.

"Okay, let's go" Troy said.

"Bye baby. Have fun" Gabriella said.

"Bye mommy" Grace said.

Troy took Grace's hand and the father daughter duo left the house. Troy and Grace started walking down the street.

"Is mama okay daddy?" Grace asked.

"She's okay. She is going to be sick for a while" Troy said.

"When will she get better?" Grace asked.

"I don't know baby girl. But she and her doctor are working really hard to make her feel better" Troy said.

"I don't want mama to be sick" Grace said.

"I know you don't. I don't want her to be sick either. We have to be strong for her though. If we are strong for mama, then she will get stronger and feel better" Troy said.

"How can we be strong for her?" Grace asked.

"We have to tell her that she will get better and that everything is going to be fine" Troy said.

"I want to tell her that" Grace said.

Troy smiled slightly.

"Maybe when I go see mama, you can tell her" Troy said.

Grace nodded. Troy and Grace continued their walk and returned home. That night, Troy walked downstairs and smiled when he saw Gabriella looking in the mirror.

"Baby is growing" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and nodded. He walked over to his wife and kissed her shoulder. Troy stood in front of Gabriella and kneeled down and lifted Gabriella's shirt, exposing her bump. He brushed his hand over it and smiled.

"Hi baby. Daddy's here" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

Troy kissed Gabriella's stomach softly. Gabriella giggled.

"That tickles" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and kissed her bump one last time before letting her shirt fall over it. He stood up and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"Do you want to find out the sex at my next appointment?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah. If you want to" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm going to mom's and I was going to take Grace with me" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Troy knew that Gabriella didn't want Grace to see his mother in the condition that she was in, but he didn't know if she had a lot of time left. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I love you" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I love you too baby. Be careful" Gabriella said.

"I will" Troy said.

Troy and Grace left the house and drove to the Bolton home.

"Gracie, remember mama may not look the same or talk the same okay? If you get scared, let me know and papa will take you downstairs" Troy said

"Okay daddy" Grace said.

Troy and Grace got out of the car and walked into the house.

"Dad?" Troy called.

Jack appeared and smiled.

"Hey big girl. I missed you" Jack said as Grace ran into her grandfather's arms.

Troy smiled.

"How is she doing today?" Troy asked.

"Physical therapist came and mom argued with her. I think she's getting frustrated" Jack said.

Troy nodded and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Well maybe we came at a good time" Troy said.

Jack nodded.

"Mama will be so happy to see you" Jack said looking at Grace.

Grace smiled.

"Come on baby, let's go upstairs" Troy said.

Jack put Grace back on her feet and Troy and Grace walked upstairs and into the master bedroom.

"Hi mom" Troy said.

"Tr..oy" Lucille said.

"Yeah, I'm here. I brought someone special too" Troy said.

"Mama" Grace said.

Troy looked at Grace and smiled. Tears ran down Lucille's cheek.

"Gr..ace" Lucille said.

"Yeah, that's Grace. She wanted to come and see you. Baby, you want to say hi?" Troy asked looking at his daughter.

Grace nodded skeptically. Troy smiled. He opened his arms and Grace held out her arms to her father. Troy lifted Grace onto his hip.

"Hi mama" Grace said.

"Hi Gr..ace" Lucille said.

Troy smiled and looked down at his daughter.

"See, it's still mama" Troy said.

Grace buried her face in Troy's neck. Troy put his hand on Grace's back and rubbed it gently. Grace wrapped her arms around her father's neck.

"Do you want to go downstairs with papa?" Troy asked.

Grace shook her head.

"Are you getting scared baby?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded slightly. Troy kissed Grace's head.

"I..love…you Gr..ace" Lucille said.

Troy smiled.

"Did you hear her?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. She moved so she was looking at Lucille.

"I love you mama" Grace said.

"Do you want to give mama the card that you made her?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. She slid off Troy's lap and walked closer to the bed. Troy smiled sympathetically as he watched Grace stand next to his mother's bed.

"Mama, I made you a card" Grace said.

"You can read it to her Grace" Troy said.

"I drew a picture of you and me. There's you and there's me. I wrote get well soon on it too" Grace said pointing out what was in the card.

Troy smiled. Lucille moved her hand and placed it on top of Grace's.

"Th..ank you sweet…heart. I…love…it" Lucille said.

Grace looked at Troy and smiled brightly.

"Why don't you put it on the table next to her bed?" Troy said.

Grace put the card on the bedside table.

"How's physical therapy going mom?" Troy asked.

"I…hate…it" Lucille said.

Troy smiled slightly.

"We need you to get better mom. Not just for me. But for Grace, Logan, Gabriella, and the new baby" Troy said.

"I..will…try…Tr..oy" Lucille said.

Troy nodded.

"That's all I ask. I'm going to head home. I love you mom" Troy said.

Lucille lifted her hand slowly and placed it on the side of Troy's face. Troy put his hand on top of hers.

"I…love…you…too…Tr..oy" Lucille said.

Troy smiled. He sniffled and blinked several times, trying to get rid of the burning in his eyes. Troy wanted to be strong for his mother and for Grace. He kissed Lucille's forehead softly.

"I'll be back tomorrow okay?" Troy said.

Lucille nodded slowly. Troy turned to Grace and smiled.

"You ready to go bug?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"Alright, let's go" Troy said.

Troy and Grace left the bedroom and walked downstairs. Jack was sitting in the living room. He looked up and knew Troy was trying to be strong.

"You okay?" Jack asked.

Troy nodded.

"I'll be back tomorrow. If anything happens, call me" Troy said.

"Troy" Jack said.

Troy looked at his father.

"Don't hold it in. I know that you are hurting but you can't keep yourself from feeling all of this" Jack said.

Troy nodded.

"Gracie, go give papa a hug and a kiss and we will go see mommy" Troy said.

Grace hugged and kissed her grandfather and left the house. Troy and Grace got into the car.

"Daddy?" Grace asked.

"Yeah?" Troy asked as he started driving.

"Were you crying?" Grace asked.

Troy smiled. She was a smart little girl.

"A little bit. But, I'm okay" Troy said truthfully.

"I don't want you to be sad, daddy" Grace said.

"I know you don't sweetheart. But sometimes, you can't help it. Mama is very sick and I want to help her. But my help may not be enough" Troy said.

"You said that if we are strong then mama will get strong. We have to do that daddy" Grace said.

"Yeah, we do" Troy said.

Troy drove home and parked his car. He and Grace got out of the car and went into the house. Gabriella smiled when she saw Grace walk into the house. She then saw Troy walk in and knew that something was up.

"Babe, are you okay?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm fine. I am going to shoot hoops" Troy said.

"Troy" Gabriella started.

"Brie, baby, I'm fine. I just need to deal with this on my own right now" Troy said softly as he put his hand on Gabriella's cheek.

Gabriella nodded.

"I just don't want you to feel like you are alone in this" Gabriella said.

"I know and thank you for thinking that. There's just a lot of things going through my head right now and its kind of overwhelming. The only way I could see myself finding any sort of peace is to figure it out on my own" Troy explained.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm not trying to push you away baby. I hope you understand that" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly and kissed Troy's cheek.

"I know you aren't. I don't like seeing you like this Troy. If you want to sort through everything on your own, I will accept that. But if you can't or don't want to, I'm always here" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Thank you honey. I know you don't. I love you" Troy said.

Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella. Gabriella wrapped hers around his waist. She felt Troy's body start to shake and her shoulder became wet. Gabriella kissed Troy's cheek and rubbed his back soothingly.

"Everything is going to be okay" Gabriella said.

Ten minutes later, Troy's body stopped shaking and he sniffled.

"Sorry" Troy mumbled.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You are one man that has had to take on a lot in a short amount time. All your emotions were built up baby. Like I said before, if you need to sort through everything, I am here" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's forehead.

"I'm going to go take a shower" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy walked upstairs and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, Troy came downstairs and smiled when he saw Logan lying on the couch watching one of his favorite shows on television.

"Hey bud" Troy said.

"Hi daddy" Logan said.

"What are we watching?" Troy asked.

"Cars" Logan said.

Gabriella came downstairs and saw Logan and Troy sitting on the couch.

"Feeling a little better?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled and nodded. He looked down at Logan. Troy got up and walked over to Gabriella.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked putting his hand on Gabriella's expanding stomach.

"Fine. A little crazy with everything going on. But, I'm okay" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled sympathetically.

"I didn't want to stress you out with all of this" Troy said.

Troy looked down at Gabriella's bump. Gabriella put her hand on her husband's face and brought it up to her level.

"She's my mother too. It's hard to watch someone you love go from being okay to not. The baby is fine. Logan has been on baby watch. He always asks me if I'm okay" Gabriella said.

Troy chuckled.

"At least part of me is always with you when I'm not actually here" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"But, as much as I need to be with mom, I need to be here with you. I'm sorry that I haven't been lately" Troy said.

"Babe, we've talked about this. You are dealing with a lot. I don't want you to worry. I guess we both feel like we are stressing each other out" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and nodded. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly. Gabriella pulled away slowly and wrapped her arms around Troy's neck.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

A couple weeks later, Gabriella was sitting in an exam room waiting for Dr. Brand to come in. Troy was at his parent's house because the physical therapist was coming to work with Lucille and he wanted to see her progress and see if she was getting better or worse. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came into the room.

"Hi Gabi, Troy working today?" Dr. Brand asked as she washed her hands.

"He's with his parents. His mom had a stroke and so he's dealing with a lot right now" Gabriella said.

"And how are you doing?" Dr. Brand asked.

"A little stressed out. I've been trying to be calm but sometimes you can't in a situation like that" Gabriella said.

Dr. Brand nodded.

"I get it" Dr. Brand said.

There was a knock on the door and Troy poked his head in.

"Am I late?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled and shook her head. Troy walked into the exam room and closed the door behind him.

"You are supposed to-" Gabriella started.

"I went to mom's and talked to the therapist early so I could make it" Troy said.

Gabriella's eyes filled with tears. Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"How is your mom doing Troy?" Dr. Brand asked.

"Doing as good as she can. She's a fighter. Did I miss anything important?" Troy asked.

"No. We were just about to get started. Gabi, can you lie back for me?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella lied down on the exam table. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips.

"You are crazy wildcat. I'm so happy that you are here" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. Dr. Brand turned on the ultrasound and pulled Gabriella's gown above her bump. She squeezed gel onto Gabriella's stomach and picked up the wand and moved the product around Gabriella's bump.

"There's your baby" Dr. Brand said pointing to the screen.

The couple looked at the screen and smiled.

"It got so big" Troy said.

"You didn't come last month so you haven't seen it for a while" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded feeling guilty that he missed Gabriella's last appointment.

"Do you want to find out the sex?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella looked at Troy, who took her hand in his and nodded.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

"Okay let's take a look and see if we can tell" Dr. Brand said moving the wand around Gabriella's stomach.

Dr. Brand stopped moving the wand and pointed to the screen.

"It looks like another girl. Congratulations" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella looked at Troy and couldn't help but cry. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"I love you baby" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Troy wiped the tears that were running down Gabriella's face. He looked up at Dr. Brand.

"Is the baby still breech?" Troy asked.

"Let's take a look" Dr. Brand said.

Troy smoothed Gabriella's hair back with his free hand. Dr. Brand moved the wand around Gabriella's stomach and took a deep breath and released it.

"Yeah, it looks like it" Dr. Brand said.

Troy took a deep breath and released it. He looked at Gabriella, who looked disappointed.

"She can still turn around right?" Troy asked.

'Yeah, she can. But we have to be prepared for everything" Dr. Brand said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella tightened her grip on Troy's hand.

"Let me go print these pictures for you and I will be back" Dr. Brand said.

Dr. Brand left the room. Troy looked at Gabriella.

"Baby, are you okay?" Troy asked.

"I don't want to talk about it" Gabriella said.

"Brie, she can still turn" Troy said.

"What if she doesn't?" Gabriella said sniffling.

"If she doesn't, then we will deal with it when we get to that point. But for right now, we don't know if she will turn or not" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.

"Do you want me to stay home tomorrow?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"You have a lot of things to do at work and then you have to go to mom's" Gabriella said.

"Gabriella, look at me baby" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy with tears in her eyes.

"I know that there are a lot of things going on right now. I'm sorry that I'm not home as much as I should be" Troy said.

Gabriella looked down at her expanding bump.

"It's not your fault Troy. I'm just really scared about it. I've been reading things online and they have been scaring me" Gabriella said choking up.

Troy's face softened. He held Gabriella's cheek in his hand.

"Why didn't you tell me that before baby?" Troy asked.

"I didn't want to add another thing to your plate. I wanted to keep you out of it because of everything that was going on" Gabriella said.

"You are not adding another thing to my plate. Don't even say that, Brie. This baby is our responsibility. Yours and mine. No matter how much is going on, you will always be a priority okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella sniffled and nodded.

"Oh sweetheart" Troy said.

Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"I'm sorry" Gabriella said.

"You are pregnant. You are allowed to be emotional. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. I should have been paying more attention" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came back into the room.

"We'll talk more at home okay?" Troy said softly.

Gabriella nodded. Dr. Brand handed Troy the sonogram.

"Alright, Gabriella I want to examine you" Dr. Brand said.

Dr. Brand went ahead with her exam. Troy held Gabriella's hand and smoothed her hair back. He felt awful that Gabriella was feeling the way she did. Troy hoped that by talking to her at home, he could figure out a way to balance everything that was going on equally.


	14. Emotions Riding High

After Gabriella's appointment, the couple drove home. They walked into the house and went into the living room.

"Brie, can you tell me what's bothering you? Is it the things that you have been looking up online or is it something else?" Troy asked.

"The things that I have been reading online. It just is starting to scare me the closer I get to my due date. I want the baby to turn so everything can be normal" Gabriella confessed.

Troy nodded.

"Don't believe everything you read, sweetheart. Some of that stuff is not the same as what you are going through. I'm going to be here. I promise. I know that things are a little crazy but they will level out soon once we get mom's stuff under control" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy opened his arms and Gabriella walked into them. She wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and tears fell from her eyes. Troy felt Gabriella's tears come in contact with his shirt and neck and rubbed Gabriella's back and whispered soothing words into her ear.

"I'm glad you made it to my appointment though. That was a nice surprise" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I remembered that you told me that you wanted to find out the sex at that appointment and I wanted to find out with you. I didn't want to miss that. So thankfully the physical therapist finished early and allowed me to come" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I didn't want to find out without you. If you hadn't come, I would have told her that I didn't want to know" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Do you have to go back to mom's now?" Gabriella asked sitting up so she was looking at Troy.

"Not unless dad calls me. He knows how important it was to me that I be at your appointment today too" Troy said as he wiped tears that were running down her face.

Gabriella nodded.

"Where are the kids?" Troy asked.

"With my mom. I didn't want to bring them with me. Mom had the day off so she took them" Gabriella said.

"So two girls?" Troy started.

Gabriella smiled and nodded. Tears formed in her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

"My babies" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"Are these happy tears?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"How are we going to tell everybody?" Troy asked.

"I haven't thought that far yet. What do you think of everyone meeting at your parent's house and we tell them there? I want mom to find out at the same time as everyone else" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. Gabriella was so thoughtful and wanted everyone to be comfortable.

"That sounds like a good idea" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"How are we going to tell the kids?" Gabriella asked.

"We just have to tell them. We need to be clear and they will get it" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Do you think they will be happy?" Gabriella asked.

"I think Grace will. Logan will probably warm up to the idea later on. He's a boy" Troy said.

"Are you happy that we are having a girl?" Gabriella asked.

"I feel like I can finally be happy that we are having a baby because we have jobs, we finished school, and as a couple we are fine. I honestly can't wait for her to come. Not that I wasn't happy about Grace and Logan. I'm happy that we have everything in order and we have stable jobs" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I just hope she turns" Gabriella said placing her hand on her swollen bump.

"I hope so too sweetheart. But if she doesn't, we just have to figure it out when that times comes" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. That night, Grace and Logan were watching television and Troy was sitting on the couch looking at his phone. Gabriella came into the room and looked at Troy. Troy looked at Gabriella and knew that she wanted to tell the kids about the baby.

"Hey guys, daddy and I have to talk to you about the baby" Gabriella said sitting next to Troy.

Troy turned off the television so that the kids payed attention to what they were going to discuss.

"What about the baby?" Grace asked.

"Daddy and I went to the doctor to see how the baby was doing in my tummy and we found out if you are going to have a brother or a sister" Gabriella explained.

"You did?" Grace asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy took Gabriella's hand in his own.

"Do you want me to tell you?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded.

"Logan, what about you baby?" Gabriella asked.

Logan held his hands out. He didn't really understand what Gabriella was talking about. The couple smiled.

"You are going to have a baby sister" Gabriella said.

Grace smiled.

"Yay!" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"Are you happy?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded.

"I want her to come now mommy" Grace said.

"I know you do baby. But we have to wait a little while longer until she's ready to come out" Gabriella said.

"Logan, what do you think?" Troy asked.

"I'm going to have a baby sister?" Logan asked.

Troy nodded.

"Are you happy?" Gabriella asked her son.

"Yeah" Logan said.

The couple smiled. That night, Gabriella was in bed and Troy walked into the bedroom.

"Are they asleep?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"Do you think they are happy about having a baby sister?" Gabriella asked.

"I think they are still getting used to the idea. Logan is still figuring it out" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Are you feeling okay?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, just tired" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's forehead.

"Did you check on mom?" Gabriella asked.

"I called dad. He said she is the same" Troy said.

Gabriella put her hand on Troy's cheek.

"You okay?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"I'm okay. Don't worry" Troy said placing his hand on Gabriella's expanding stomach and kissing Gabriella's lips.

Gabriella kissed Troy and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I love you too baby. Everything's going to be fine" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and instantly relaxed when the scent of Troy's cologne came in contact with her nose. A couple weeks later, Grace walked into the house with Troy after getting picked up from preschool.

"Mommy?" Grace called.

Gabriella came into the living room and smiled.

"How was preschool today baby?" Gabriella asked.

"I made something for the baby" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled.

"You did?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah" Grace said.

"Can I see it?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded. She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her mother. Gabriella looked at what Grace made and smiled. It was a picture of Grace and the baby. Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks.

"I love it Grace. It's beautiful" Gabriella said.

"Don't cry mommy" Grace said.

Grace put the picture down and ran upstairs to Troy and Gabriella's bedroom where Troy was sitting on the bed.

"Hey, what happened?" Troy asked as Grace started crying in his arms.

"I gave…mommy the…picture…and she started…crying" Grace cried.

Troy wrapped his arms around Grace and kissed her head.

"Grace, mommy loves your picture. The baby makes mommy cry sometimes. She can't help it. You didn't do anything wrong sweetheart. Come on, let's go downstairs and see mommy okay?" Troy said.

Troy lifted Grace onto his hip. He walked downstairs.

"Brie?" Troy called.

"Kitchen" Gabriella said.

Troy walked into the kitchen and smiled sympathetically. Gabriella looked at Grace, who had tears running down her face.

"Gracie, I'm sorry for crying like I did. The baby sometimes makes me cry" Gabriella said wiping her daughter's tears away.

"I don't want the baby to come if it makes you cry" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"Baby, she will only make me cry for a little while longer and then I won't cry anymore okay?" Gabriella said.

Grace nodded.

"Come here" Gabriella said.

Troy put Grace down and watched her walk to Gabriella. Gabriella kneeled down and opened her arms. Grace walked into them and wrapped her arms around her mother's shoulders. Gabriella kissed Grace's cheek.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too mommy" Grace said.

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I love the picture" Gabriella said moving a stray hair away from Grace's face.

"You do?" Grace asked.

Gabriella smiled and nodded.

"When we set up your sister's room, I will put it in a frame and hang it up for her to see too" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled as he watched Gabriella and Grace talk. He knew that when Gabriella was pregnant with Logan, Grace didn't understand what mood swings were and completely dismissed everything. But now that she was older, she was noticing things more.

"Are you feeling better Grace?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded. Gabriella smiled. That night, Troy woke up to his phone ringing.

"Hello?" Troy answered.

Troy listened to the person on the phone and immediately jumped out of bed. He threw on a shirt and sweats and put his shoes on. Troy walked over to the bed and kissed Gabriella's cheek softly. He quickly wrote a note to Gabriella and left it on the bed. Troy walked out of the bedroom and went downstairs and left the house. He started driving. The nurse that Troy had hired said that Lucille tried to get out of bed by herself and fell. Troy pulled into the driveway of his parent's house and got out of the car. The nurse had called an ambulance and Troy could see it arriving as he got out of the car. Troy jogged into the house.

"Dad?" Troy called.

"Bedroom" Jack said.

Troy went upstairs to the bedroom.

"What happened?" Troy asked.

"She tried to get out of bed by herself and fell. Luckily, I was walking by the room to go into my office when she fell" Jack said.

Troy took a deep breath and released it. He ran his fingers through his hair.

"Ambulance was just pulling up as I got out of the car" Troy said.

Within minutes, Lucille was on a stretcher being carried down the stairs. Jack looked at Troy.

"Troy, let me handle what's going on at the hospital. I'll-" Jack started.

"I need to go with her" Troy said.

"Troy, listen to me. Gabriella is pregnant and you have two kids sleeping at home right now. Let me handle this. If the hospital needs you, I will call you and if they don't, I will call you when she is settled and they have a plan of what they are going to do. You can't go running around from home to here to the hospital in the middle of the night" Jack explained.

"I-" Troy started.

"Troy" Jack started.

"Call me if you hear anything" Troy said.

Jack nodded worriedly and hugged Troy.

"Everything is going to be okay. Go home and get some sleep. I'll call you when I hear something" Jack said.

Troy nodded. He looked at the ambulance that was in front of his parent's house and sighed. How did things go from zero to one hundred so fast? Troy got into his car and drove home. He pulled into the driveway and parked his car. Troy walked into the house and locked the door. He went upstairs and saw Gabriella sitting up in bed. Troy closed his eyes and sighed sympathetically. He opened his eyes and looked at his pregnant wife.

"Is she okay?" Gabriella asked softly.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly and sat on the edge of Gabriella's side of the bed.

"Ambulance came and took her to the hospital" Troy said.

"What happened?" Gabriella asked.

Troy sniffled.

"She tried to get out of bed on her own and fell" Troy said.

"She's at the hospital?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"Why aren't you there? Did dad go?" Gabriella asked.

Troy put his hand on Gabriella's expanding bump.

"Dad wanted to handle it himself" Troy said.

"Because I'm pregnant" Gabriella said.

"No baby. Dad said that it was more important for me to be here with you and the kids right now. I agree with him. He is just looking out for all of us. He doesn't want you to get stressed out because of what's going on and the kids to ask questions. He told me that he would call and let me know if anything happened" Troy said.

"If anyone is talking about being stressed, I think you are the one that is the most stressed out" Gabriella said.

"And that's why he wanted me to come home and let him handle things at the hospital" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"There are other reasons that he didn't want me to be at the hospital than the fact you are pregnant and that we have kids. He knows I get stressed out about all of this" Troy said.

"I understand" Gabriella said.

"Go back to sleep okay?" Troy said.

"Are you coming to bed?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"I just need to check my phone and see if she was admitted yet" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy walked over to his side of the bed and didn't see any messages from Jack. He took a deep breath and released it. Troy took his shirt off and stripped down to his boxers and got into bed. He reached over and turned off Gabriella's bedside lamp and kissed her cheek softly.

"Wake me up next time you do that" Gabriella said.

"Okay. I'm sorry that I didn't" Troy said.

The couple fell asleep. The next morning, Gabriella woke up and smiled when she saw Troy sleeping soundly. His arm around was protectively wrapped around Gabriella's waist and his hand laying on her stomach. She turned over and leaned in and kissed Troy's cheek softly and carefully unwrapped herself from him and got out of bed. Gabriella grabbed her phone and went into the hallway and called in sick for Troy. She didn't want him to go to work with what happened last night. Gabriella went down the hall and woke the kids up. Two hours later, Troy stirred and he opened his eyes. He looked at the clock and his eyes widened. Troy got up quickly and got dressed. Gabriella poked her head into the bedroom.

"Where are you running to?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm late for work. I overslept" Troy said.

"Babe, I called in for you. Go back to bed" Gabriella said.

"Brie, you didn't need to-" Troy started.

"I'm not going to let you go to work for eight hours with what happened last night with mom. No way" Gabriella said.

Troy took a deep breath and released it.

"Go back to bed" Gabriella said.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly. He pulled back and put his hand on Gabriella's cheek.

"Thank you baby" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"No problem. Oh and before you ask, dad called with an update around eight this morning" Gabriella said.

"What did he say?" Troy asked.

"He said that she is pretty bruised up and they are going to keep her in the hospital for observation until tomorrow" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Thank you sweetheart" Troy said.

"No problem baby. Go back to sleep" Gabriella said.

Troy took off his work clothes and went back to bed. An hour later, Troy felt something snuggle into his side. He opened his eyes slightly and smiled when he saw Grace lying next to him.

"What are you up to pretty girl?" Troy asked.

"Are you sick daddy?" Grace asked.

"No honey. I'm not sick. I was up past my bedtime and am really tired" Troy said.

"Why?" Grace asked.

"Mama needed me and I went to her house to help her and Papa out" Troy said.

"Oh" Grace said.

"What's wrong Gracie?" Troy asked knowing something was bothering her.

"I miss going to mama's house" Grace said.

Troy smiled. He wrapped his arm around Grace and kissed her head softly.

"I know you do. But we have to get mama better before you can go there. I know you are sad sweetie" Troy said.

"I can't go see Papa?" Grace asked.

"Papa is taking care of Mama right now" Troy said.

Grace looked down. Troy took a deep breath and released it.

"I'm going to call Papa and see what he's doing" Troy said.

Grace nodded. Troy called his father and talked to him for a while. Twenty minutes later, Troy hung up the phone and got out of bed. He walked downstairs.

"Grace?" Troy called.

Grace looked up from the television.

"We are going to go see Papa. Go get your shoes on" Troy said.

"Okay daddy" Grace said.

Grace went upstairs and got her shoes on and came back downstairs. Troy walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Gabriella's waist and kissed her shoulder.

"I'm going to take Grace to go see dad" Troy said.

"Is he at home?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"Yeah, he's going to go back to the hospital later today" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Grace came into the kitchen.

"Daddy, I'm ready" Grace said.

"Okay. Go say goodbye to mommy" Troy said.

Gabriella kneeled down carefully and opened her arms. Grace walked into them.

"Have fun baby" Gabriella said kissing her daughter's cheek.

"Bye mommy" Grace said.

"Love you" Gabriella said.

Grace giggled.

"Love you" Grace said.

Gabriella kissed Grace's cheek. Troy and Grace left the house. A couple hours later, Troy opened the door and smiled when he saw Gabriella lying on the couch.

"Where's Grace?" Gabriella asked.

"Dad said that he wanted to keep her for a couple hours. He knows that Grace misses going to spend time at the house and wanted to give her some time" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"When are you going to pick her up?" Gabriella asked.

"When the doctor calls me and gives me an update" Troy said.

"Was she happy when she saw dad?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, she said that she missed him and mom" Troy said.

"She told him that?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked lifting her legs up and sitting down on the couch and placing them on his lap.

"Tired. I've been reading" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at his wife.

"About?" Troy asked.

"Breech babies and stuff like that. I just want to be prepared for everything" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Brie, if you want me to read stuff with you, I will. What have I always said?" Troy asked.

"We are going to do this together" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and nodded.

"If you want me to read with you and talk about that stuff, just ask. I don't want you to be scared" Troy said.

"You want to read tonight after we put the kids to bed?" Gabriella asked.

"Okay" Troy said warmly.

Gabriella smiled. The couple talked for a little while longer before they made dinner together.


	15. Take One Thing At A Time

That night, Troy and Gabriella put Grace and Logan to bed. They walked into their bedroom. Gabriella climbed into bed and looked at Troy, who took off his shirt and stripped down to his boxers. Troy got into bed and looked at Gabriella.

"Do you want to read with me?" Gabriella asked shyly.

Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's cheek. He moved Gabriella's body closer to him.

"Yeah, where do we start?" Troy asked.

Gabriella picked up her laptop and set it in between her and Troy. She started typing and pressed enter and started her search. An hour and a few tears later, Gabriella's head was leaning against Troy's chest. Troy rubbed Gabriella's back soothingly and kissed her head softly.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for us to research stuff" Gabriella said.

"We have to learn about this somehow right?" Troy said.

"Yeah, but I didn't think I would be crying like this just reading an article about it" Gabriella said.

"You are nervous and that's okay, Brie. I am too. But we need to know what's going on and what to expect" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"How about we stop reading for tonight and we continue tomorrow? I think we read a lot today" Troy said closing Gabriella's laptop and placing it on the nightstand.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled and leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you or baby girl. I promise" Troy said.

Gabriella's eyes filled with tears and she wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and choked back a sob. Troy rubbed Gabriella's back soothingly.

"Everything's going to be fine, sweetheart. Don't worry" Troy said.

"It's just a lot of emotions running through-" Gabriella started.

"I know and that's okay. Why don't you get some sleep and we can start tomorrow fresh?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy moved so that he was looking at Gabriella.

"I love you so much, Brie. We are going to get through this" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

The couple fell asleep. A couple weeks later, Troy came home from work and his mouth fell open. He saw that Gabriella's stomach had grown significantly since the night before.

"Woah baby. She grew overnight" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy with tears in her eyes. Troy saw the hurt in Gabriella's eyes and instantly wrapped his arms around her.

"No baby, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry" Troy said.

Tears ran down Gabriella's face.

"But I am fat" Gabriella said.

"Brie, you are not fat. You are pregnant. I honestly think you are even sexier when you are pregnant than when you aren't. You look beautiful baby. I'm really sorry. It came out wrong" Troy said.

Gabriella cried in Troy's arms. Troy took a deep breath and released it.

"Then what did you mean?" Gabriella asked tearfully.

"I meant to say that the baby grew overnight. Your belly is bigger than it was yesterday because she grew. That's what I was trying to say, sweetheart. I'm sorry" Troy said placing his hand on Gabriella's expanding stomach.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it and sniffled.

"I'm sorry for being overdramatic. It's the hormones" Gabriella said crying all over again.

Troy smiled sympathetically and rubbed Gabriella's back with his free hand.

"It's alright honey" Troy said.

Troy held Gabriella in his arms for twenty minutes until she pulled back and wiped the last of her tears and looked at Troy, embarrassed of her hormonal outburst.

"You okay baby?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I really am sorry for saying that. Can you forgive me?" Troy asked.

"Yeah. I've never had a huge mood swing like that" Gabriella said.

"Maybe she will be a mini Sharpay" Troy said.

Gabriella shook her head.

"Over my dead body" Gabriella said.

Troy chuckled. Gabriella wrapped her arms around her husband. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek softly and rubbed her stomach in small, soothing circles.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"I called dad on my way home" Troy said.

"How is mom?" Gabriella asked.

"She's alright. She's trying so hard to get better and do things that she used to" Troy said.

"How is dad handling it?" Gabriella asked.

"He said that he put a rail on her side of the bed and moves it up when she's going to go to sleep or at night so she doesn't fall or try to get out of bed on her own" Troy said.

"And how has that been going?" Gabriella asked.

"Nothing bad yet. She's still working with a physical therapist. He said that mom asked about Grace and Logan" Troy said.

"What about them?" Gabriella asked.

"She wants to see them. She hasn't seen Logan since before the stroke" Troy said.

"He's much younger than Grace, Troy. I don't think it's a good idea. I got used to the idea of Grace seeing her. But Logan…he's younger and more sensitive" Gabriella said.

"I know and I told dad the same thing" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked softly.

"Tired" Gabriella said.

"Why don't you take a nap? I'll watch the kids" Troy said.

Too tired to argue, Gabriella nodded. She kissed Troy's lips softly. Troy kneeled down and kissed Gabriella's bump gently.

"I love you sweetheart. Give your mommy a break" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. Troy stood up and smiled.

"Go take your nap. If I need to run to mom's, I will wake you up" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She walked upstairs. A couple hours later, Gabriella came downstairs and smiled when she saw Troy reading a book to Logan. She walked to the doorway and leaned against it and listened. Logan looked up and smiled.

"Hi mommy" Logan said.

"Hi Logan. What are you guys reading?" Gabriella asked.

"A book" Logan said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Is it good?" Gabriella asked.

"Uh huh" Logan said.

"Good. Is Grace still sleeping?" Gabriella asked looking at the time and saw that it was two hours after their scheduled nap time.

"Yeah, she was out when I took Logan to go potty" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"How was your nap?" Troy asked.

"Good. Much needed. I feel a lot better" Gabriella said sitting down next to Troy and Logan.

"Chad called when you were asleep. He wanted to know if we could get a game going" Troy said.

"You can go babe. We are fine" Gabriella said.

"I know. I just was waiting for you to wake up before I left. Do you need anything while I am out?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"Okay" Troy said getting up.

Troy helped Gabriella to a standing position and kissed her lips softly.

"I'll be back in a little while. Call me if you need anything" Troy said.

"Okay. Say bye to daddy, Logan" Gabriella said.

"Bye daddy" Logan said.

Troy left the house and drove to Chad's. He parked his car and walked into the backyard and saw Chad already making free throws.

"You are going to break your back, old man" Troy joked.

Chad chuckled.

"Speak for yourself. How's it going?" Chad asked.

"Pretty good. Everyone is doing okay" Troy said shooting a basket.

"How's Lucy?" Chad asked.

Troy took a deep breath and released it.

"She's alright. She's fighting hard. Logan and Grace are dying to see her and my dad. But, Brie and I don't think it's a good idea" Troy said.

"They are young. Didn't you take Grace there or am I imagining things?" Chad asked running up to the basket and dunking the ball into the hoop.

"Yeah, I did. She got scared at first. But when I took her back the second time, she was fine. They miss going over there" Troy said.

"That's really their second home. How are you doing with all of it?" Chad asked.

Troy scrunched his nose looked down at his feet and nodded.

"It's been hard. Every day it's something else. I always have to have my phone on me because I never know if my dad or the nurse will call me and tell me something happened. It's been an emotional rollercoaster" Troy said.

"Have you talked to Gabriella about it at all?" Chad asked.

"Yeah. But at the same time, I don't want to stress her out because I know she will. They're her parents too. I just don't know what's going to happen" Troy said.

"And that's the scariest thing" Chad finished.

Troy nodded.

"We are here for you, hoops. If you need anything or you and Gabi need a break, let us know. We can take the kids for the night so you can do what you need to" Chad said.

Troy smiled slightly.

"Thanks Chad. That means a lot" Troy said.

"We've known each other since we were five, Troy. We're not just best friends. We're brothers" Chad said.

Troy nodded.

"I'm just worried about Brie and the kids. All three of them don't need to be dealing with the stress of this too" Troy said.

Chad nodded.

"It's a family's worst nightmare. But you are handling it well" Chad said.

"My dad told me not to come over there because of everything that is going on at home. He didn't want to add another thing to my plate. But, I can't just ignore it" Troy said dribbling the ball.

"He doesn't want you to go crazy. You have Gabriella, who is pregnant with a baby that is not in the position it's supposed to be in. You have the kids, who need you. Then you have work on top of it. It's a lot" Chad said.

Troy nodded.

"We started researching about it" Troy said talking about the baby.

"How has she been dealing with it?" Chad asked.

"She's scared and so am I. Yeah, we have two kids but with her having the miscarriage and everything that came along with that, we just want to know what can happen" Troy said.

"What can happen?" Chad asked.

"The worst case scenario is that she has a c-section. She doesn't want that and I don't either. But if it comes down to that, we have no choice" Troy said.

Chad nodded.

"Enough about me and everything going on. What about you and Tay? Any babies in the works?" Troy asked.

Chad smiled.

"Not yet. We are just waiting for a while until everything slows down. She's really busy with work" Chad said.

Troy nodded.

"Are you excited to be a daddy for the third time?" Chad asked.

Troy couldn't help but smile and nodded.

"When you become a parent, you will understand. But when you hold that baby for the first time in your arms and know that you created it nothing will matter anymore. When Grace was born, there was a lot of stuff going on but as soon as I held her for the first time, I never thought I could love someone that much within minutes of meeting them. I can't wait for this one to come" Troy said smiling thinking about his unborn daughter.

Chad smiled.

"It definitely is a good look for you" Chad said.

Troy smiled.

"I love being a dad. I didn't think I would be a good one" Troy said.

The two men talked for a little while longer. An hour later, Troy walked into the house and smiled when he saw Grace and Logan in their pajamas and sitting with Gabriella, who was reading a book to them. Troy leaned against the door frame of the living room and listened. Gabriella looked up and smiled.

"Hey" Gabriella said.

"Hey, getting ready for bed?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Mind if I join the party?" Troy asked.

"Daddy, it's not a party" Grace said.

Troy smiled and walked into the living room and sat down with his family. He lifted Grace onto his lap.

"It sure looks like one" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"We were just finishing" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Troy asked his children.

"Yes" Grace and Logan said simultaneously.

"Okay. Come on, let's go upstairs" Troy said getting up and lifting Grace onto his hip.

Troy, Grace, and Logan walked upstairs. Ten minutes later, Troy had tucked Logan in and walked into Grace's room and smiled when he saw her awake in bed. He sat on the edge and leaned down and kissed her head.

"Good night, Gracie. I love you" Troy said.

"Daddy" Grace said.

"Yeah?" Troy asked.

"When the new baby comes is it going to be like when Logan was a baby?" Grace asked.

Troy smiled. He swore Grace was a clone of Gabriella. She was very smart and caught onto things fast.

"Yeah, kind of. You are still going to be her big sister and Logan will be her big brother. Why?" Troy asked.

"I don't know" Grace said.

"Are you sad that mommy and I are going to have another baby?" Troy asked.

Grace shook her head. Troy looked at the five-year-old and smiled.

"Grace, mommy and I will always love you and Logan. I promise you sweetheart" Troy said.

Grace nodded. Troy smiled and kissed her head one last time.

"You need to get some sleep okay?" Troy said.

Grace nodded.

"I love you Grace" Troy said.

"I love you daddy" Grace said.

Troy got off Grace's bed and walked out of the room. He went downstairs and saw Gabriella pulling out ingredients out of the refrigerator.

"What are you making?" Troy asked.

"A delicacy" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He wrapped his arms around Gabriella from behind and set his chin on her shoulder. He placed his hands on both sides of Gabriella's bump and rubbed it in soothing circles.

"What kind of delicacy?" Troy asked.

"A pregnant one" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's shoulder and then her neck.

"Grace asked me when the baby comes, will it be like when Logan was a baby? I explained to her that we love her and Logan and that she will still be a big sister, but Logan will become the baby's big brother" Troy explained.

"Do you think she is thinking that we will forget about her?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't think so. I just think that this time around is different. Grace is a lot older now than she was when we had Logan. She's starting to observe things" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"The last thing I want is for either of them to feel like they are going to be forgotten or left out when she comes" Gabriella said putting finishing touches on her snack.

"I know. We just have to talk to them about it when it comes up" Troy said.

"It just makes me sad that they would think that" Gabriella said as tears fell from her eyes.

Troy smiled sympathetically. He took the utensils that Gabriella was using out of her hands and set them on the counter. He then wrapped his arms around Gabriella and kissed her cheek softly and rubbed her back.

"Mood swings" Gabriella mumbled into Troy's chest.

Troy chuckled.

"It's okay. Mood swings don't bother me anymore" Troy said.

Gabriella closed her eyes and inhaled Troy's cologne and relaxed.

"Is your snack ready?" Troy asked.

Gabriella looked over at her snack that she created and nodded.

"Eat your snack and then let's get in bed okay?" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Gabriella unwrapped her arms from Troy's body and ate a piece of her snack.

"Do you want to try it?" Gabriella asked.

"No thank you sweetie. It's all yours" Troy said.

Gabriella shrugged and continued to eat her snack. Once she finished, Gabriella put her plate in the dishwasher. The couple went upstairs. When Gabriella got into bed she pulled her shirt up, revealing her bump. She traced imaginary shapes on her expanding belly. Troy smiled and got into bed. He lied down on his side and propped his head up. Troy leaned over and kissed Gabriella's bump softly.

"Feel better?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"How was Chad's? I never asked you" Gabriella said.

"Good. We talked for a while" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She didn't want to push anything on Troy. He kissed Gabriella's bump again.

"He asked about the baby and mom" Troy said.

"I figured" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly.

"He agreed with dad when I told him how he didn't want me to be at the hospital when she fell that night" Troy said.

"He said the same thing?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"Babe, you are always going to worry about her. There's not going to be a time where you don't and he and dad are not telling you all of that to try and tell you not to worry. They are telling you that because and I don't want to come out sounding needy or clingy" Gabriella started.

Troy shook his head.

"You will never sound like that" Troy said.

"I wasn't finished" Gabriella said softly.

"Sorry. Continue" Troy said.

"They are telling you that because we have two kids who need you and I'm pregnant. They don't want you to throw yourself into something that can potentially occupy your life more than what's going on at home. Like I said, I don't want to sound needy or clingy" Gabriella said.

"I understand and you don't sound like that at all. If I have done that Brie, I'm so sorry. I just-" Troy started.

"Don't apologize, baby. I get what you are going through. I'm just trying to explain to you what dad and Chad both are telling you. It's nobody's fault" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"Everything happening with her just piled up and I shut down and couldn't think about anything but her" Troy said.

"It's okay" Gabriella said softly.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella softly. Gabriella pulled away and looked at her husband nervously.

"What is it?" Troy asked concerned.

"Will it hurt the baby?" Gabriella asked.

"We did it when you were pregnant with Grace and nothing happened" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"We don't have to baby if you don't feel comfortable" Troy said.

"No. I want to" Gabriella said.

"Are you sure?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled.

"Make love to me, Troy" Gabriella said.

"If I hurt you or you feel uncomfortable, don't hesitate to stop me" Troy said looking into Gabriella's eyes.

Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips. Clothes were discarded and the couple made love into the early morning.


	16. Day By Day

The next morning, Troy woke up and smiled when he saw Gabriella wrapped in a sheet, sleeping soundly with her hand protectively on her bump. He grabbed his boxers and slid them on and kissed Gabriella's cheek softly and pulled the covers up to cover her body more. Troy walked out of the room and saw Grace walking out of her room and smiled.

"Morning. How did you sleep?" Troy asked kneeling down to Grace's level.

"Good. Where's mommy?" Grace asked.

"Mommy is still sleeping. Baby sister kept her up late" Troy said.

"Oh" Grace said.

Troy smiled slightly. After their activities last night, Gabriella had felt their unborn daughter move around all night and finally fell asleep at around four in the morning.

"Come on, let's go get Logan and go downstairs" Troy said.

Troy and Grace woke Logan up and went downstairs. A couple hours later, Gabriella came downstairs dressed and smiled when she saw the kids watching a movie and Troy on his computer. She walked over to her husband, who was sitting at the kitchen island. Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella's waist.

"How did you sleep baby? Did she finally settle down?" Troy asked placing his hand on Gabriella's expanding bump.

"Yeah, at four. I'm exhausted" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled sympathetically.

"I didn't hurt you did I?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled and shook her head.

"No. I've missed that" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. Gabriella leaned down and kissed Troy's lips.

"Me too. What are we doing today?" Troy asked.

"Just hang out" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. A couple weeks later, Gabriella was six months pregnant. She was in the bathroom getting ready for her appointment with Dr. Brand. Troy walked into the bathroom and kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"Feeling okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella had been getting backaches and cramps for the last week and a half. She had been taking baths before bed so she could try and get as much sleep as she could. But it still didn't take away all of the discomfort that she was feeling.

"Tired" Gabriella said.

"Does your back hurt?" Troy asked carefully placing his hand on the small of her back.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

"When we get home, I will rub it for you honey" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it. The couple got ready to leave. The kids spent the night at Maria's so that they didn't have to worry about rushing and driving them over to her house in the morning.

"Come on" Troy said taking her hand in his.

The couple drove to Dr. Brand's and walked into the office. Gabriella signed herself in and sat down next to Troy. She leaned her head against Troy's shoulder and closed her eyes. Troy entwined their fingers and kissed Gabriella's thumb. A nurse came into the waiting room with a file.

"Gabriella?" the nurse called.

Troy smiled. He looked at Gabriella, who still had her eyes closed and her head was on his shoulder.

"Baby, we are going to go to a room now" Troy said softly.

Gabriella opened her eyes and Troy smiled. He stood up and offered his hands to Gabriella, who took them gratefully. Troy helped Gabriella to a standing position and the couple followed the nurse to a room where Gabriella's vital signs were taken and then escorted to an exam room.

"Gabriella, please change into a gown and Dr. Brand will be in shortly" the nurse said handing Gabriella a gown.

The nurse left the room. Troy looked at his wife and smiled.

"You okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Just really tired" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella changed into the gown and sat on the exam table. A couple minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came into the room.

"Hi guys. How are you feeling Gabi?" Dr. Brand asked.

"Tired. I've been having really bad back aches and cramps all week" Gabriella said.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are they usually at night?" Dr. Brand asked seeing the dark circles under Gabriella's eyes.

Gabriella nodded.

"All night long" Gabriella said putting her hand on her bump.

"Has she started kicking yet?" Dr. Brand asked opening Gabriella's chart.

"Not yet" Gabriella said.

"Are Grace and Logan getting excited?" Dr. Brand asked as she washed her hands.

"Yeah. But they are like me, they always think about everything and analyze it" Gabriella said.

"They are still young. I think they will get used to the idea once she comes" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Can you lie back for me?" Dr. Brand asked as she put a pair of fresh gloves on.

Gabriella lied down carefully. Troy took Gabriella's hand in his. Gabriella looked at Troy and smiled. Troy smiled back. Dr. Brand turned on the ultrasound and waited for it to heat up. She put a blanket over Gabriella's legs and raised her gown above her bump. Once the ultrasound heated, Dr. Brand took a bottle of gel and squeezed some of the product onto Gabriella's expanding bump. She then took a wand and moved the gel around her stomach and looked at the monitor.

"There's your baby girl" Dr. Brand said pointing to the screen.

Gabriella looked at the screen and smiled. Tears ran down her cheeks and Troy wiped them away before she even had time to think. Gabriella looked away from the screen at Troy and smiled. Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's lips softly and looked at the screen.

"Is she healthy?" Gabriella asked.

"She looks like it and she's at the right size. She's still in the same position though. So we need to have a talk about the delivery" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella looked at Troy nervously, who smoothed her hair back. Gabriella then looked back at Dr. Brand.

"What do we need to talk about?" Gabriella asked.

"Have the two of you talked about the delivery?" Dr. Brand asked.

The couple nodded.

"Several times" Troy said.

"I think we need to have a plan B in case the original plan doesn't work out" Dr. Brand said.

"What do you mean by if the original plan doesn't work out?" Gabriella asked.

"If you start pushing the baby out and there's no progress or you get tired, we need to have a plan B in case that happens" Dr. Brand explained.

Gabriella looked at Troy nervously. Troy squeezed her hand in support.

"Like have a c-section?" Troy asked.

Dr. Brand nodded.

"She's breech still and I don't want to put stress on Gabriella or the baby if the baby doesn't come out" Dr. Brand said.

Troy nodded understanding Dr. Brand's point. He looked at Gabriella.

"Baby, we've talked about this" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"This is the worst case scenario, Gabi. We just want to prepared in case something happens. We aren't saying something will. Just to be prepared" Dr. Brand said assuring Gabriella.

"If she can't come out, I'll do it" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella looked at Troy, who smiled at her.

"Alright. Let me go print these pictures for you and I will be back" Dr. Brand said.

Dr. Brand left the room. Troy looked at Gabriella.

"Honey, are you okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"It's the worst case scenario, Brie. If she won't come out or she gets stuck or something, then we have to do it" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Silent tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks. Troy wiped her tears away.

"Everything is going to be okay. You try it and see. That's what you will have to do" Troy said.

"It's just too much and it really upsets me" Gabriella cried closing her eyes and putting her hand over them.

Troy looked at Gabriella sympathetically. He knew that this wasn't a mood swing and that reality was starting to set in now that they were getting closer to Gabriella's due date.

"Babe, look at me" Troy said softly.

Gabriella looked at Troy with tears running down her face.

"We want to do what's best for her right?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Then if something happens, we need to do what's best for her and you" Troy said softly.

Gabriella looked down at her bump.

"If she won't come out for whatever reason, we need to find a way to get her out and the way to that is by c-section" Troy explained.

Gabriella nodded.

"I know you are scared baby. I know it's scary to think about. But, we have to come up with an alternative plan" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Dr. Brand knocked on the door and came in and shut it behind her. She handed Troy the sonogram and put her hand on Gabriella's leg.

"Let me examine you and then we will get you out of here" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded. She spread her legs apart while Dr. Brand washed her hands and put on a pair of gloves. Dr. Brand sat at the foot of the bed. Troy took Gabriella's hand and kissed it. Dr. Brand looked at Gabriella and smiled sympathetically.

"Take a deep breath for me, Gabi" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and felt Dr. Brand start to examine her and squeezed Troy's hand. Troy took his free hand and smoothed Gabriella's hair back.

"Just breathe honey" Troy said.

Dr. Brand looked up and smiled at Gabriella.

"Everything looks okay, Gabi. Just take it easy" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded.

"We'll talk more about the delivery and everything later. But for right now, relax and don't stress out about it" Dr. Brand said.

"I just have never had an issue like this before and I don't know what to expect or anything. I'm scared" Gabriella confessed to her doctor.

"I understand and it's normal. We just need to take it day by day. She could still surprise us and turn" Dr. Brand said.

"I gave up on that idea" Gabriella said.

"Just take it day by day" Dr. Brand repeated.

Gabriella nodded. Dr. Brand smiled.

"Alright, I'll see you next month. Call if there's a problem" Dr. Brand said.

The couple nodded and Dr. Brand left the room. Troy looked at Gabriella.

"Come on, let's get you home" Troy said.

Gabriella changed back into her clothes and the couple left the office. They started driving home and Troy would occasionally look at Gabriella. He was worried about her. He knew that a lot was going through her head.

"You heard what she said, Brie. You need to take it easy and not stress about this" Troy said breaking the silence.

"It's hard for me, Troy. You don't have to push out a baby or have to have your body cut open so a baby could be taken out of it. You, physically, don't understand what it feels like. Emotionally and mentally, yes. I understand that you are scared like me. But, you don't have to physically go through it" Gabriella said as tears ran down her face.

Troy licked his lips before he responded. He understood what Gabriella was saying.

"Sweetheart, I know that I don't have to physically go through it and I know it's hard for you to wrap your head around it. But Brie, she is going to come whatever way she wants to whether we like it or not. We can't control that even though we want to" Troy said softly.

"Can you drop me off at my mom's?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at Gabriella and knew that she just needed some time to think and collect her thoughts. He nodded.

"Yeah" Troy said.

Troy drove to Maria's and parked his car. Gabriella looked at her husband. Troy looked at the steering wheel.

"I just need time to think and I want to talk to my mom about it. Not that you aren't helpful or anything like that, Troy. I just need to talk to someone that has had a baby" Gabriella said softly.

Troy nodded. Gabriella leaned over and put her hand on Troy's cheek and leaned in and kissed his lips.

"I'm not mad at you either if that's what you are thinking. I'm just trying to put everything together in my head and am frustrated. That's all" Gabriella continued.

"I know" Troy said quietly.

"I'll call you when I'm on my way home okay?" Gabriella said softly.

Troy nodded. Gabriella leaned in and kissed Troy's lips one last time.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too. Like I said before, I just need time to think" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella got out of the car and closed the door. Troy watched Gabriella walk up the pathway to her mother's house and press the doorbell. He pulled out of the driveway and drove home. Two hours later and after taking a nap to try and calm herself down, Gabriella woke up in her childhood bedroom. When she had walked into the house a couple hours before, she barely said anything to her mother and just walked upstairs. Gabriella sat up and felt dried tears on her cheeks. She got up and walked out of the bedroom and went downstairs.

"So are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Maria asked sitting at the kitchen island.

"The baby is breech and I have been really afraid of the possibility that I may have a c-section. I've been really emotional and Troy has been trying so hard to help me feel okay about it. But, at the end of the day, I feel like it still could happen and I'm scared. I've talked to Troy about it and he keeps telling me that everything will be fine. But he's not a pregnant woman. He doesn't have to physically go through it" Gabriella said.

"You feel like he doesn't understand what you are going through physically" Maria said clarified.

Gabriella nodded.

"Gabi, he may not understand what you are going through physically. But mentally and emotionally, he does. He's worried about it too. Just because he won't physically go through it, doesn't mean he can't relate. He's trying to understand but you also have to let him in and open up to him" Maria said.

Gabriella put her hand on her bump.

"He wants to understand what you are feeling" Maria continued.

Gabriella nodded.

"Talk to him and explain it to him and he will have a better understanding of where you are coming from" Maria said.

Gabriella nodded. An hour later, Troy heard the front door open and saw a tearstained Gabriella come into the house. Gabriella looked at her husband and burst into tears. Troy walked over to Gabriella and took her into his arms. He wrapped his arm around her waist and put his other hand on her head.

"I'm scared" Gabriella cried.

Grace stood in the doorway and looked at her parents confused. Troy looked at Grace and smiled sympathetically.

"Gracie, go take Logan upstairs and play up there okay? We'll be up in a minute" Troy said.

Grace and Logan went upstairs. Once they were out of earshot, Troy turned his attention back to Gabriella, who was still crying in his arms.

"Gabriella, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong" Troy said.

"I'm scared of what's going to happen. If I can't have her normally and have to have a c-section. I just am really scared and I feel like you are so patient with me and are always there…I feel like you don't understand what I am going through because you aren't a woman, who has to give birth to a baby. I don't want to fight-" Gabriella said breathlessly.

"Hey, hey, hey. Babe, breathe" Troy said putting his hand on her cheek.

Gabriella coughed trying to catch her breath. She had started having a panic attack. Troy rubbed Gabriella's cheek with his thumb.

"Gabriella, you need to breathe" Troy said.

Gabriella started breathing and Troy nodded.

"Good. In and out. You are okay" Troy said as he helped her regulate her breathing.

Troy continued to breathe with Gabriella and help the panic attack pass. Fifteen minutes later, Gabriella started breathing normally and tears ran down her face. Troy brought her into the living room and helped her sit down on the couch. He sat in front of her.

"Honey, talk to me calmly" Troy said.

Gabriella repeated what she had said when the panic attack started calmly.

"First off, I don't want to fight with you either and we aren't. We are talking about it. You are right. I may not be a pregnant woman and not understand what's going on in there, but I want to try to understand it if you let me" Troy said putting his hand on Gabriella's expanding stomach.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled slightly.

"Baby, help me understand" Troy said.

"I'm young and yes, we have two kids. But, I've never been through something like this. I'm scared, Troy. I am really scared and I know that I can go come to you and talk. But I feel like since you haven't been through it physically, you don't understand how I feel" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He took Gabriella's hand in his own.

"I know you are scared, Brie. I know. You are right about me not understanding. I don't know how you feel about it because I haven't been pregnant before. But, I would like to try and understand how you feel and why" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"When you have a c-section you have to be cut open while you are awake. You hear the doctors and other people in the room talking about you and your baby and if there is a problem. That is scary" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"But babe, if you didn't have one, you would hear them talking about that in front of you too" Troy said.

"It just feels like there is a difference in my opinion" Gabriella said.

"Okay. What else? Tell me everything" Troy said.

The couple continued to talk. That night, Gabriella had went to bed early. She was emotionally drained from everything that had gone on that day. But she was woken up by a little hand on her belly. Gabriella looked to Troy's side of the bed and smiled when she saw Grace lying next to her.

"Hi baby" Gabriella said.

"Mommy, it's not bed time yet" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled and wrapped her arm around her daughter and kissed her cheek.

"I know it's not. But the baby is making me tired so I wanted to be in bed. What's wrong Grace?" Gabriella asked.

"Nothing. I didn't want you to get lonely" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled at her daughter's thoughtfulness.

"Thank you sweetheart. What are you guys doing downstairs?" Gabriella asked.

"Watching a movie" Grace said.

"Oh. You don't want to watch it?" Gabriella asked.

Grace shook her head.

"You shouldn't worry about me Grace, okay? I'm fine" Gabriella said.

"Daddy said that I'm like him because I will always make sure you are okay" Grace said.

Gabriella nodded.

"You are and you do. Would it make you feel better if I come downstairs and watch the movie with you?" Gabriella asked.

"If baby sister wants you to" Grace said holding her index finger up.

Gabriella giggled.

"I think she wants to get a snack so we have to go downstairs for that" Gabriella said.

Grace nodded. Gabriella got out of bed and stretched. She then walked to the door and held out her hand to Grace and the two girls walked downstairs. Troy heard movement coming from the stairs and saw Gabriella and Grace walk into the room and smiled. The two girls walked into the living room and sat down.

"What are you guys watching?" Gabriella asked as Grace curled up next to her mother.

"A movie, mommy" Logan said.

Gabriella smiled. Troy looked at Gabriella.

"You feeling okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Just a little emotionally drained from everything today" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. They all watched the movie and spent time together as a family. Gabriella knew that being with the people that she loved the most was the ultimate cure for how she was feeling.


	17. Emotional Roller Coaster Ride

A couple days later, Gabriella came home from her last day at work before she went on maternity leave. She was sad, but happy at the same time. Gabriella walked into the house and smiled when she saw a card that was made by one or both of the kids that read "We Can't Wait To Spend All Day With You".

"Troy?" Gabriella called.

Gabriella heard Troy walk into the living room.

"Happy last day of work" Troy said kissing Gabriella's lips.

"Thank you. Did you give the kids the idea of the card?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"I wrote out the words since you and I both know that they seem to write in what looks like a different language. They drew the pictures though" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I love it. That's so sweet. Thank you baby" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"They are both in the kitchen" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She walked into the kitchen and smiled.

"Hi guys. What are you doing?" Gabriella asked.

"Drawing mommy" Logan said.

"I see that. I saw your card that you drew" Gabriella said.

Both Grace and Logan's faces lit up.

"Did you like it?" Grace asked.

"I love it, baby. Thank you" Gabriella said kissing Grace and Logan's cheeks.

"Does that mean baby sister is coming soon?" Grace asked.

"Yeah. I'll be home until baby sister comes and then I will go back to work" Gabriella said explaining maternity leave as simple as she could.

"Yay" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled. The little family spent the day hanging out around the house. A couple weeks later, Gabriella was up late, watching television downstairs. A couple days prior, the baby kicked for the first time and hasn't stopped ever since, making sleeping impossible. Gabriella was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard footsteps coming downstairs. Troy came into the living room and sat down next to his wife.

"What are you doing up so late? Are you feeling okay?" Troy asked putting his hand on Gabriella's bump.

Gabriella nodded.

"She hasn't stopped kicking and I can't fall asleep" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He leaned down pulled Gabriella's shirt above her bump and kissed her bellybutton, causing her to giggle.

"Hey little lady, you need to cut down on the kicking and let your mommy go to sleep. She's very tired. She's been taking care of your older brother and sister while daddy has been working" Troy said kissing Gabriella's bump one more time.

Gabriella smiled. Troy felt a kick come in contact with his nose.

"I think she is trying to tell you that she doesn't care daddy" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He rubbed Gabriella's bump in soothing circles.

"She's going to be a rebel. I can already tell" Troy said.

"Maybe a little Sharpay" Gabriella said.

"Maybe. Has she settled down a little bit?" Troy asked.

"A little" Gabriella said putting her hand on top of Troy's.

"Do you want to go back to bed baby?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Okay. I'll help you up" Troy said getting off the couch.

Troy held his hands out and helped Gabriella to a standing position.

"Tomorrow can we go visit mom? I feel bad that I haven't been going to see her" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled and kissed her forehead softly.

"If you want to. Dad's been keeping me updated" Troy said.

"Do you want to go with me?" Gabriella asked.

"Do you want me to?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled.

"Then I will. Come on" Troy said.

The couple went upstairs and went to bed. The next day, Troy and Gabriella were at Troy's parents house.

"So what's the latest?" Troy asked.

"She has started walking again. She's still a little shaky, but it's a start" Jack said.

Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"Baby, why don't you go on up and I'll be there in a minute okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She walked upstairs and went into the bedroom and smiled when she saw Lucille sitting up in bed.

"Hey pretty lady" Gabriella said.

Lucille turned her head slowly and smiled.

"Gabi" Lucille said tearfully.

Gabriella's eyes started to water. She walked over to the bed and sat in the chair that was next to it.

"Hi mom" Gabriella said.

"How..are you…feeling?" Lucille asked.

"Pretty good. Your granddaughter has been keeping me up though. She kicks all night long" Gabriella said.

Lucille smiled.

"Dad's been telling Troy and I that you have been walking and the speech therapist has helped you a lot. I'm so proud of you mom" Gabriella said.

"I have but…I want to be…my old self..again" Lucille said.

"You will mom. I know you will" Gabriella said wiping the tears that were running down her cheeks.

"Don't..cry…please Gabi" Lucille said.

"I'm sorry. It's the hormones. I am really happy for you mom" Gabriella said.

"Thank you…how are Grace…and Logan?" Lucille asked.

"They are good. They miss you a lot. Grace always asks when she can come and visit" Gabriella said.

The two women talked a little longer. Gabriella walked downstairs and saw Troy standing at the bottom step of the stairs and broke down in his arms. He wrapped his arms around his pregnant wife and kissed her cheek.

"She's getting better baby. You just have to think of it that way" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and cried into her husband's chest. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"Don't cry" Troy said.

"I can't help it" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I'm going to up and say hi and then we will go home okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy went upstairs and came back down a couple minutes later.

"You ready?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. The couple left the house and drove home. That night, Gabriella was taking a bath in the Jacuzzi tub. Her muscles ached and she needed some relief. There was a knock on the bathroom door and Troy poked his head in.

"How are you feeling sweetie?" Troy asked.

"Achy" Gabriella said.

Troy closed the door behind him and kneeled in front of the tub.

"Do you want me to call Dr. Brand and see if she can recommend something?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"She will just tell you that it's normal and to wait it out" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled sympathetically.

"You've been in here a while and that's why I am wondering if I should call her and ask" Troy said.

"I'm fine. It's not like its contractions or anything" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"The kids are in bed" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Thank you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"No problem. Do you want to get out or stay in for a little while longer?" Troy asked.

"If I stay in here any longer, I'll be a prune" Gabriella said.

Troy chuckled.

"At least you will be a cute one" Troy said.

Gabriella held her hands out and Troy helped Gabriella up to a standing position. Troy grabbed a towel and handed it to Gabriella. Gabriella stepped out of the tub.

"I'll let you change" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. After she changed, Gabriella walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom and got into bed.

"Feeling better?" Troy asked who was already in bed.

"A little bit" Gabriella said.

"Has she given you a break?" Troy asked putting his hand on her bump.

"Yes, finally. Not that I don't like when she kicks. It's just that I'm more tired than I was when I had Logan" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded understanding.

"She's just trying to say hi mommy I'm here" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled.

"I know. I just wish sometimes she would give me a break" Gabriella said.

"Are you feeling better after what happened at mom's today?" Troy asked.

"It was just a mood swing. It's nothing" Gabriella said.

"Babe, it is something to me if it's bothering you" Troy said.

"I just don't want the same thing to happen to mom that happened to my dad. That's why I'm worried about it" Gabriella said.

Troy's eyes softened.

"Sweetheart, what happened to your dad couldn't have been predicted. I've heard mom say that for as long as I've known you. Your dad was very sick and it just sped up. By the time, they figured out how to help him, it was too late. With mom, we couldn't have predicted that mom would have a stroke so early. But, she did. It was hard when it first happened, but now, she is improving little by little. They are and were hard situations to deal with. If it starts to go downhill with mom, then we will figure out what to do when that time comes. But until then, I don't want you to worry about it okay? We are three months away from having our baby girl and I don't want you to go into early labor or anything like that because you were stressed out about what's going on okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella choked back a sob. Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and kissed her cheek.

"Don't cry baby. Everything will be fine. I promise" Troy said.

"How are you staying so positive about this?" Gabriella asked tearfully.

Troy smiled and wiped tears that were running down Gabriella's cheeks.

"Because I know that I can't control what happens even if I tried. It would just make me go crazy and I don't want to feel like that and I don't want you to feel like that either. Mom is strong and she is getting stronger every day. It may take a while for her to be fully recovered, but she is going to be okay. You can't dwell on this, Gabriella. It's not healthy for you or the baby. I know you are worried. But it's beyond anyone's control" Troy said.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.

"Do you understand what I am saying?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled slightly.

"I love you and everything is going to be fine. No matter what happens" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's forehead.

"Get some sleep okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded and leaned in and kissed Troy's lips softly. Troy pulled away and smiled. He turned off the bedside lamp and the couple fell asleep. A couple weeks later, Gabriella walked into the house after having an appointment with Dr. Brand. The kids were with Maria for the day.

"Troy?" Gabriella called.

Troy walked into the living room. Gabriella smiled when she saw that he was still in his work suit, but his tie was loosened and his hair was going in every direction.

"How was your meeting?" Gabriella asked.

"Long. Tax season is going to be crazy this year. How was Dr. Brand's?" Troy asked sitting down on the couch.

Gabriella handed Troy the sonogram that she had got at her appointment. Troy smiled.

"She's gotten so big" Troy said looking at the sonogram.

Gabriella nodded.

"Dr. Brand said that she's healthy and at the right weight" Gabriella said.

"That's good right?" Troy said.

"Yeah. She brought up the delivery again and I told her my plan" Gabriella said.

"What did she say about that?" Troy asked.

"She said that I never give up when someone tells me no or something bad" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"That's true. You don't ever give up" Troy said.

"She was going to explain the whole process to me if I needed a c-section. But I told her that I wanted you there to hear it too" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there today. I really wanted to" Troy said.

"It's okay. It was out of your control" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly. He leaned down and kissed Gabriella's expanding stomach.

"Anything else?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"She just said to get plenty of rest and drink a lot of water to keep myself hydrated" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

Gabriella put her hand on her bump and smiled.

"Kicking?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. She took Troy's hand and placed it where the baby kicked her hand. Troy smiled when he felt their unborn daughter kick his hand.

"I can't wait until she's here" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Me too" Gabriella said.

"So I think we need to talk about what's going to happen" Troy said stroking Gabriella's expanding belly.

"Talk about what?" Gabriella asked.

"Talk about the possibility of you having a c-section. I've been doing some reading" Troy said.

"What did you find?" Gabriella asked nervously.

Troy smiled sympathetically.

"Baby, I'm not trying to scare you. I am trying to help" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded slowly.

"What did you find Troy?" Gabriella asked again.

"I read an article that talked about when the baby is breech and the woman is pushing for a long period of time, she can get tired and be in a lot of pain. When that happens, the doctors think it's best for the woman to have a c-section" Troy said.

"So are you saying that I should just forget about even trying" Gabriella said.

"No Brie. I just think we should consider it. I'm not trying to be negative or say that you aren't able to do it. I just think it would be better that you not be in excruciating pain. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Troy asked softly.

"Gabriella looked down at her bump.

"I'm just trying to help babe" Troy said softly.

"Can we not talk about this anymore…please?" Gabriella asked tearfully.

Troy nodded. Gabriella lied down and turned over in bed so that she wasn't facing Troy.

"Gabs" Troy said.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore Troy" Gabriella said with tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry that I brought it up" Troy said.

"Can you do me a favor?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah. What do you need?" Troy asked.

"Can you call my mom? I want to stay over there tonight" Gabriella said sniffling.

Troy's face softened. He knew that he messed up but at the same time they needed to talk about it.

"Sure honey" Troy said.

Troy called Maria and asked if Gabriella could stay at her house for the night. After he talked to her, Troy climbed back into bed.

"She said to come over. Do you want me to drive you?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"I can drive" Gabriella said getting up carefully.

Gabriella walked to the door of the bedroom and Troy finally spoke.

"Brie, can we just talk about this?" Troy asked.

"I don't want to talk about it" Gabriella said calmly.

Gabriella found a small duffel bag and packed a set of clothes into it.

"Babe, are you sure you don't want me to drive you? I don't think you should be driving when you are crying like that" Troy said.

"I'm fine" Gabriella said quietly.

The couple walked downstairs. Troy carried down the duffel bag to the door and Gabriella left the house. Twenty minutes later, Gabriella was settled on the couch at her mother's. The house phone rang and Maria picked it up.

"Hello?" Maria answered.

"Mom, did Gabriella make it over there?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, she's here" Maria said.

"I was just calling to make sure. Can you tell her that I love her?" Troy asked.

Maria smiled.

"Yes Troy, I will" Maria said.

"Thanks mom" Troy said.

Maria and Troy hung up. Gabriella's head was in Maria's lap. Maria was stroking Gabriella's hair as tears ran down her daughter's cheeks.

"What happened Gabi?" Maria asked.

"The baby is breech and Dr. Brand was talking about us making a decision on what we were going to do. If I wanted to have a c-section or just do it normally. I don't want to have a c-section and I have told Troy that multiple times. Tonight, after my appointment he said that he has been doing research and he thinks I should have c-section because he doesn't want me to be in pain or just trying to push her out for a long period of time" Gabriella cried.

Maria nodded.

"Gabi, he is just trying to help" Maria said.

"I know that. But I'm already freaked out as it is. I don't want him to think that I can't do it. That hurts me to think that that might be a possibility" Gabriella cried.

"Gabriella, listen to me. Troy knows you can do it. He's seen it twice before remember? He just wants everything not to be stressful. I'm not agreeing with him or you. But, the two of you need to talk tomorrow and you need to tell him how you feel" Maria said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Go upstairs and get some sleep. We'll talk more about this tomorrow" Maria said.

Gabriella nodded and sat up. Maria helped Gabriella to a standing position and the two women walked upstairs. The next morning, Gabriella drove home. She walked into the house and saw Troy sitting in the living room. He looked up at her hoping that she was feeling better.

"Can we talk?" Gabriella asked softly.

Troy nodded. Gabriella sat down next to her husband and looked at him.

"I understand that you don't want things to be stressful for me. But, I'm hurt that you think that I can't give birth to our daughter, just because she's not in the right position. That's why I got upset and wanted to leave last night. You know that I don't want to have a c-section, Troy. We've talked about it" Gabriella said calmly.

Troy sniffled.

"I know you don't, Gabriella. I never wanted you to think that I thought that you couldn't give birth to her. I know you can, baby. I just wanted to eliminate everything and just thought we should go ahead with the c-section so it would be less pressure off you and her. I read a lot about it and maybe it's just me getting nervous. I don't know. I'm sorry that I made you think that that is what I was saying" Troy said.

"Like I've said before, if I push and nothing happens, I'll do it. But I have to at least try" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I want you to support me in my decision" Gabriella continued.

Troy put his hand on top of Gabriella's.

"I will always support you in what you want to do because I love you" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy motioned for her to come closer. Gabriella moved closer to Troy and leaned her head against his chest. Troy put his hand on Gabriella's bump and rubbed it in soothing circles.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"I don't want this to be brought up again and we fight. I think we should just tell Dr. Brand this plan and stick to it. What do you think?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"I don't want to fight about it anymore either. Let's tell her next time when she asks about it" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips. Gabriella pulled back slowly and leaned her head against Troy's shoulder. The couple knew that they were going to have differences of opinions at some point in their marriage. But they never expected them to affect one another in the way that it has.


	18. Take It Easy

A couple weeks later, Troy came home from work and smiled when he saw Gabriella lying on the couch with a blanket over her body, watching a movie with tears running down her face. Troy walked over to his wife and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Why are we crying?" Troy asked carefully moving Gabriella so that she was leaning against him.

"It was so sad" Gabriella cried.

Troy smiled and tried to hold in his laughter. Gabriella was too cute when she was having a mood swing. Troy looked at the screen and sighed.

"Titanic? Baby, it's just a movie" Troy said.

"I did my research and it was actually a real thing. They have a museum and everything. Rose and Jack actually died and they were head over heels in love with each other" Gabriella cried.

Troy wrapped his arms around his emotional six-and-a-half-month pregnant wife. He kissed Gabriella's head softly.

"It's okay Brie" Troy said.

"If we were-" Gabriella started but was interrupted.

"Babe, I wouldn't let go of you even if I was in freezing cold water" Troy said.

Troy watched her expression and smiled when she wrapped her arms around him.

"How about we don't watch this until after she comes?" Troy suggested.

"Are you trying to say I'm too hormonal to watch it?" Gabriella asked.

"No sweetheart" Troy said realizing he just had to let her mood swing pass.

"Then what did you mean?" Gabriella asked.

"I don't want you to sit here and cry over a movie. I don't want you to be sad" Troy said.

"Why do you care so much?" Gabriella cried wrapping her arms around Troy's shoulder and burying her face into Troy's neck.

"Why do I care so much? I love you more than anything, Brie. I don't want you to be sad baby" Troy said rubbing Gabriella's back in small, soothing circles.

This continued for a half an hour. Gabriella had left to go to the bathroom and then came back downstairs. Troy looked at Gabriella, wondering if the mood swing had ended.

"You okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella's face turned red from embarrassment.

"Was it really bad?" Gabriella asked.

Troy chuckled. The mood swing had finally ended.

"Do you remember what you said?" Troy asked.

"Something about Titanic" Gabriella said.

"You lectured me for forty-five minutes about me caring and loving you in relation to the movie. Then you thought about what would happen if we were stuck on an iceberg and died the way Rose and Jack did" Troy said.

Gabriella looked down in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Come here" Troy said.

Gabriella walked over to Troy. Troy wrapped his arm around Gabriella and put his free hand on her bump.

"I think out of all the mood swings you have ever had, that one was my favorite" Troy said.

"Troy, that's not funny" Gabriella said.

"I'm not saying it was funny. You were very passionate about it. You told me you did research on the real Titanic too" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed. Troy moved Gabriella's chin up with his index finger so that she was looking at him. He leaned in and kissed her lips softly.

"I'll never let go, Brie" Troy said.

"Okay, I get the point" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Anyway, how was your day besides watching Titanic?" Troy asked.

"Starting to have cramps" Gabriella said.

"When did that start?" Troy asked.

"A couple hours ago. I was doing laundry and I started having them. So I stopped doing laundry and came in here and watched Titanic" Gabriella said.

"Are you feeling better?" Troy asked.

"They are still there, but it's gotten better" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Do we need to-" Troy started but was interrupted.

"I called Dr. Brand already and she said to just rest" Gabriella said.

"Okay. Do you want me to do anything?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"Just sit here with me" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella leaned her head against Troy's chest.

"Where are the cramps?" Troy asked.

"My back" Gabriella said.

Troy rubbed Gabriella's back in small, soothing circles and watched her body relax.

"Anything else hurting?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"You sure baby?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"You haven't had cramps like this since you were pregnant with Logan" Troy said.

"That means she is going to be hyper like him" Gabriella said.

Troy chuckled.

"Maybe" Troy said.

Gabriella moaned.

"Pain?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"Keep rubbing that spot please. That's where it hurts the most" Gabriella mumbled.

"Okay. Let me know if it hurts too much and I'll stop okay? When did you call Dr. Brand?" Troy asked.

"When they started" Gabriella said closing her eyes.

"Alright" Troy said.

Troy continued to gently rub Gabriella's back until he heard her even breathing. He looked down and smiled when he saw that she had fallen asleep. Troy kissed his wife's head softly and stopped rubbing her back knowing the cramps had stopped.

"Baby" Troy called softly.

Gabriella opened her eyes slowly. Troy smiled.

"Feeling better?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Thanks" Gabriella said sleepily.

Troy smiled.

"No problem. Take it easy today" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded putting her hand on her expanding stomach. A month later, Gabriella woke up and got out of bed. She had her seven-month appointment with Dr. Brand today. The couple had dropped the kids off at Maria's the night before so they wouldn't have to be running to get everything done in the morning. Gabriella took a shower and got dressed and saw Troy waking up.

"We have to get going or we will be late" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. The couple left the house. Troy started driving to Dr. Brand's office.

"Are you nervous?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled slightly.

"I would be lying if I said that I wasn't" Troy said putting his hand on Gabriella's leg.

"I'm glad that you could come this time" Gabriella said.

"Me too. No matter what happens, everything will be okay" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy pulled into the parking lot of the office and parked the car. He got out of the car and went to Gabriella's side and helped her get out.

"She's getting so big" Troy said putting his hand on Gabriella's stomach.

Gabriella nodded. The couple went into the office. Gabriella signed herself in and sat down next to Troy. A couple minutes later, Gabriella's name was called and the couple went into a small room where Gabriella's vital signs were taken and then escorted into an exam room. Gabriella was given a gown and told to change and that Dr. Brand would be in shortly. The nurse left the room and Gabriella changed into the gown and sat on the exam table.

"How are you feeling today baby?" Troy asked.

"Tired and ready for her to come out" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came into the room.

"Hi guys" Dr. Brand said.

"Hi" the couple said simultaneously.

"How are you feeling, Gabi?" Dr. Brand asked.

"Tired and achy" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly.

"Have you been resting?" Dr. Brand asked.

The couple nodded.

"I've been making sure she takes a nap in the morning and one in the afternoon" Troy said.

"Good. So, when we talked last month you wanted to wait until Troy was here to discuss the delivery. Do you want to do that today?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella nodded nervously.

"As for right now, she's still in the same position as she's been in for the past seven months. What would you guys like to do?" Dr. Brand asked.

Troy looked at Gabriella, who looked back at him.

"I want to try and push her out. If I push and nothing happens, I'll do the c-section" Gabriella said.

Dr. Brand nodded.

"Okay. I think that's a good plan and I would do that also if I was pregnant with a baby that was breech" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded. She looked at Troy, who took her hand in his own.

"I'm just kind of nervous about it" Gabriella confessed.

"That's perfectly normal and okay. Do you have any questions that I can answer?" Dr. Brand asked.

The couple asked Dr. Brand questions about anything that came to mind. An hour later and after an ultrasound and exam, the couple left the office and got into the car. Troy looked at Gabriella.

"Are you feeling better about everything?" Troy asked.

Gabriella had tearstains on her cheeks. She had gotten a little emotional when they were talking.

"Yeah. I'm still nervous, but I feel better knowing the process of how it's going to go" Gabriella said.

"Me too. You know that you can talk to me if you are worried about it right?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm glad that you could make it today. If I had to wait another month to find out everything I think, I would have freaked out" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Thank you for thinking of me and wanting to wait until I was available to talk about it with the two of you" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and leaned in and kissed Troy's lips.

"I love you Troy" Gabriella said.

"I love you too baby. Come on, let's go home" Troy said.

"Wait, can we stop by mom's?" Gabriella asked.

"We can if you want to" Troy said.

"I want to. I just want to take advantage of not having the kids with us and just go" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He drove to his parent's house and the couple visited Lucille. A couple weeks later, Gabriella was seven and a half months pregnant and very clingy and hormonal. One day, Gabriella walked into the bank that Troy worked at. She smiled at the associates and the manager that she knew.

"Looking for Troy?" Bob, the manager asked.

"Yeah, is he is in a meeting?" Gabriella asked.

"Let me go check for you" Bob said.

"Thank you. Please don't say that I'm here when you go check" Gabriella said.

"I won't" Bob said.

Bob walked away and came back a couple minutes later.

"He's not with a customer. You can go on back" Bob said.

"Thank you" Gabriella said.

Gabriella walked back to Troy's office and saw the door closed. She knocked on the door.

"Come in" Troy said through the door.

Gabriella opened the door. Troy looked up and smiled.

"Hey sweetheart. Close the door" Troy said.

Gabriella walked into Troy's office and shut the door.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked.

"Just missed you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I missed you too baby. Are you feeling okay?" Troy asked.

"A little hormonal" Gabriella said.

"Where are the kids?" Troy asked.

"With my mom" Gabriella said.

"You caught me at a good time" Troy said.

"Can you come home with me?" Gabriella asked.

Troy smiled sympathetically. He knew Gabriella had become very clingy in the last few weeks and he tried to meet her either half way with what she needed or wanted or fully depending on what it was.

"Honey, I'm working. I can't go home yet" Troy said putting his hand on top of hers.

"But-" Gabriella started.

"Brie, I can't leave my office. I know that you want me to be home right now and I want to be. But, I'm working and I need to do my job or else I will get in trouble sweetheart. I promise when I get home, we can do something. Just the two of us" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed. Troy smiled.

"You look really pretty today" Troy said.

Gabriella blushed.

"Don't distract me" Gabriella said.

Troy chuckled.

"Brie sweetheart, I have an appointment in five minutes. I want you to go home and curl up in bed and watch a movie okay?" Troy said.

"Fine" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Give me a kiss" Troy said.

Gabriella walked over to Troy and kissed his lips passionately. Troy pulled back slowly and looked at his wife.

"I love you. I'll be home soon okay?" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"Bye baby" Troy said.

Gabriella left the office. Troy sighed. He shook his head. Gabriella had never come to his office in the middle of a mood swing. He knew that she needed him right now. Troy had his meeting and then put down what he was doing and left his office to go talk to his boss. By the time Gabriella parked her car in their driveway, Troy was arriving. Gabriella got out of the car and waited for Troy to get out.

"I thought you had to stay" Gabriella said.

"I did. But, I talked to Bob and he let me leave early to spend more time with you" Troy said.

"It was a-" Gabriella started.

"I know. I'm home now though and we have the house to ourselves for a couple hours" Troy said.

"I'm sorry Troy. I feel bad" Gabriella said looking down.

Troy's face softened.

"It's not your fault. Our baby girl just likes to play with mommy's emotions" Troy said putting his hand on Gabriella's bump.

"Now what do we do?" Gabriella asked.

Troy raised his eyebrow.

"I have some ideas" Troy said.

Gabriella blushed. Troy held out his hand and Gabriella took it. The couple went upstairs and went into the bedroom and shut the door. That night, Gabriella was in the Jacuzzi tub trying to soothe her back and stomach cramps. Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks. She had never felt this much pain before. Not even when she was in labor with Grace and Josh. There was a soft knock on the door and Troy poked his head in and was instantly concerned by the look on Gabriella's face.

"What's wrong?" Troy asked.

"I need to go to the hospital" Gabriella cried.

"What happened Gabriella?" Troy asked.

"I couldn't sleep because my back started hurting and then I got really bad stomach cramps. It hurts really bad" Gabriella cried.

"Okay baby. Just relax as much as you can alright?" Troy said.

Troy helped Gabriella get out of the tub and get dressed. He called Jack and asked him to watch the kids. Troy helped Gabriella walk downstairs and sit in the living room.

"Baby, just breathe through it. Try to get your mind on something other than the pain okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella's face was red from the pain and the tears running down her face. There was a knock on the front door and Troy opened it and let his father in.

"You guys go. I have everything under control" Jack said.

"Thank you for doing this dad" Troy said.

"Those are my grandchildren. I would do anything for them. Don't worry sweetheart, everything will fine" Jack said rubbing Gabriella's back gently.

The couple left the house. Troy occasionally looked at Gabriella as he drove. Gabriella was gripping the hand rail of the passenger seat door. He called Dr. Brand on the way to the hospital. After he made his call, Troy looked at Gabriella and saw her gripping the handrail of the passenger seat door. He pulled into the emergency room parking lot. Nurses came to the car with a wheelchair and helped Gabriella sit down. They all went into the hospital. The front desk gave Troy a clipboard with forms to fill out while the nurses brought Gabriella to a room. Twenty minutes later, Gabriella was settled in a hospital bed, sweating because of how much pain she was in. There was a knock on the door and Troy poked his head in and smiled sympathetically. He walked into the room and closed the door behind him. Troy walked over to the bed and smoothed back Gabriella's sweaty hair.

"Baby, is the pain still the same?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Brand came into the room.

"Hi guys. What happened?" Dr. Brand asked.

"So much pain" Gabriella cried.

"Where?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella pointed to her stomach and her back.

"Okay, let me check you out first and make sure you aren't going into pre-term labor" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded. Dr. Brand conducted her exam and threw out her gloves and washed her hands.

"They are Braxton-Hicks. I'll start you on some medication to stop the contractions and for the pain okay?" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded painfully. An hour and a half later, Gabriella was finally sleeping. Troy sat in the chair next to the hospital bed. Gabriella slowly opened her eyes and looked at Troy, who smiled.

"How are you feeling baby?" Troy asked softly.

"Better. Do we know what caused this?" Gabriella asked.

"Dr. Brand came in while you were sleeping and she said that they happen to some women before they are going to give birth" Troy said smoothing Gabriella's hair back.

"So that was normal?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"Kind of" Troy joked.

"I'm sorry if I scared you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly.

"I'm just glad you aren't in pain anymore. You need to rest" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Did you call my mom?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"She said she would come in the morning. Dad called and said that he was going to bring the kids to the house so he could make sure mom was okay" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He put his thumb on her chin.

'I love you too. Dr. Brand also said that she is filing the paperwork to discharge you" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I'm really tired" Gabriella said.

"I know. When we get home, you can go to bed" Troy said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

A couple hours later, Gabriella was discharged and at home sleeping in bed. Troy would occasionally check to make sure that she was okay and not in any pain. He heard the doorbell ring and went to the door and smiled when he saw Maria. Troy opened the door and smiled sympathetically.

"Is she okay?" Maria asked.

"She's okay for right now. Dr. Brand said that she was having Braxton-Hicks but they weren't like when she had them with Grace or Logan. It scared her more than anything and they looked like they were more painful. I've never seen her in that much pain from a contraction" Troy said.

Maria took a deep breath and released it.

"Where is she now?" Maria asked.

"She's in bed because she didn't get any sleep. So she's trying to catch up" Troy said.

Maria nodded.

"I've been checking on her every twenty minutes just to make sure that she's okay" Troy said.

"Okay. Thank you for calling me, honey. When she wakes up, tell her that I will call her later" Maria said.

"I will. Thanks for coming" Troy said.

Maria smiled.

"No problem. I'll see you later. Love you Troy" Maria said.

"Love you mom" Troy said.

Maria left the house. Troy walked upstairs and poked his head into the bedroom and smiled when he saw Gabriella sitting up in bed.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Fine" Gabriella said.

"No contractions?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"Okay. Mom came while you were asleep. We didn't want to wake you up because you haven't slept so she told me to tell you to call her when you woke up" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded tiredly.

"Still sleepy?" Troy asked.

"I think just all my emotions are releasing themselves into my sleep. When I woke up, I had tears on my face" Gabriella said.

"You are home safe in bed. You haven't had any more contractions so that's good. You need to rest" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. The rest of the day, the couple relaxed around the house.


	19. Paging Dr Grace Bolton

A week later, Gabriella came downstairs and smiled when she Grace and Logan sitting at the table with Troy drawing pictures.

"What are you guys doing?" Gabriella asked kissing her children's cheeks.

"Drawing mommy" Grace said.

Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"I'm going to go to my mom's for a little bit" Gabriella said.

"Okay. Call me if you need me" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She kissed Troy's lips softly. Troy put hand on Gabriella's bump.

"Be good for mommy today baby girl. Don't cause any trouble" Troy said kissing Gabriella's bump.

Gabriella smiled. She left the house and drove to her mother's. Once she got there, Gabriella saw that her mother made some of her favorite dishes.

"Why did you make all this?" Gabriella asked.

"I wanted to. You just got out of the hospital Gabi" Maria said.

"Thanks mom" Gabriella said.

The two women ate. Once they finished, they put their dishes in the dishwasher and covered the leftovers and put them in the refrigerator.

"How are you feeling?" Maria asked.

"Fine. I haven't had any contractions since that night" Gabriella said.

"Good. Have you been resting?" Maria asked.

"Sort of. When Troy's at work, I have to watch the kids. So sometimes I have to run around" Gabriella said.

"You can always drop them off here and I can watch them, Gabi" Maria said.

"I don't want to put all of that pressure on you" Gabriella said.

"I'm their grandma. It's my job" Maria said.

Gabriella closed her eyes for a second and stopped talking.

"Gabi, are you alright?" Maria asked.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.

"Contraction" Gabriella said.

Maria nodded.

"Just relax okay? Do you need me to call Troy?" Maria asked.

"Yes" Gabriella said.

"Alright" Maria said.

Maria picked up her phone and dialed Troy's number.

"Hi mom. Is everything okay?" Troy answered.

"Hi Troy. Gabi had a contraction and she wanted me to call you and let you know" Maria said.

Troy tried to keep calm.

"Can I talk to her?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Maria said.

Maria handed Gabriella the phone.

"Brie, are you okay?" Troy asked.

"I had a contraction" Gabriella said.

"How many have you had?" Troy asked.

"Just one so far" Gabriella said.

"Okay. Are you in any pain?" Troy asked.

"No" Gabriella said.

"Alright. Do you need me to pick you up?" Troy asked.

"No, I'm fine" Gabriella said.

"Okay. If you have any more call me" Troy said.

"Okay. I love you. I'll be home soon" Gabriella said.

"I love you too baby" Troy said.

The couple hung up. Gabriella looked at her mother.

"I think I should head home" Gabriella said.

"Do you want me to drive you?" Maria asked.

"Everyone needs to calm down. They are contractions. I'm fine. I just need some space" Gabriella said.

"I'm sorry for asking. I'm just worried about you" Maria said.

"I know you are. Troy is too. I just need some space" Gabriella said.

Gabriella kissed her mother goodbye and left the house. Before going home, she decided to make a stop at East High. She parked her car and went up to her and Troy's spot. Gabriella sat down on a bench and looked at the view that overlooked Albuquerque.

"Baby, why are giving mommy such a hard time, huh? You have been making daddy and I very worried about you. I know that you want to come out and see us and your brother and sister, but it's too early for you to come out" Gabriella said putting her hand on her bump.

Gabriella's cell phone rang and she looked at the caller ID, which read Troy.

"Hello?" Gabriella asked.

"Brie, are you okay? Mom said you left her house a while ago but you haven't come home yet" Troy said.

"I'm at East High at our spot. I needed some alone time" Gabriella said.

"Did something happen?" Troy asked.

"No. I just need some time to think about things" Gabriella said.

"Did I do something?" Troy asked.

"No" Gabriella said.

"Are you sure-" Troy started.

"Troy, I'm fine" Gabriella snapped.

"Okay" Troy said.

Gabriella sighed.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you" Gabriella said softly.

"No, it was my fault. I shouldn't have kept asking questions" Troy said.

"I love you Troy" Gabriella said.

"I love you too Brie" Troy said.

The couple hung up. An hour later, Gabriella was still sitting at the rooftop garden. She heard the door open behind her and figured it was a janitor, but a hand was placed on Gabriella's shoulder. Gabriella looked up.

"Is this seat taken?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head. Troy sat down on the chair that was next to Gabriella's.

"I'm sorry for snapping" Gabriella said.

"It's forgotten. Want to tell me why you are up here by yourself?" Troy asked.

"I just needed some time to think" Gabriella said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Troy asked carefully.

"I got mad at mom when I was at the house" Gabriella said.

"Why?" Troy asked.

"She kept asking questions and making sure that I was eating, and all this stuff. I'm six months pregnant. I'm not sick. Yes, I was in the hospital because I had Braxton-Hicks but I was fine for a week and now I had another today and everyone needs to know who I'm with, what I'm doing, where I am, why I'm doing something. I just feel like I'm suffocating with all of it. I love you and mom and everyone that has asked me and I think it's very thoughtful. But, there is a time when everyone just needs to let me be. I'm already scared enough to have this baby. I don't want to deal with that and all of this other stuff" Gabriella said with tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry that I made you feel that way. I didn't mean for it to be like that, babe. I just didn't want anything to happen to you or the baby. Now that you are only two and a half months away from your due date, I just want to be cautious of everything. I know that sounds crazy and a little overboard, but I'm scared too. I don't want anything to happen to you especially if I'm not with you. Do you understand what I'm saying Brie? I'm not trying to punish you for having contractions. That's not your fault. I just want to be careful" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I guess I'm being a little selfish too. I didn't really think about how you felt about it. I'm sorry Troy" Gabriella said.

"You aren't selfish. You are pregnant. I didn't want to tell you how I felt because I didn't want to stress you out or upset you" Troy said.

Gabriella leaned her head against Troy's shoulder.

"Pregnant women are complicated" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I have no comment to that. I don't want to get in a fight. You are special and I wouldn't change anything. Even though this pregnancy has been a little crazy, I wouldn't have done it differently" Troy said.

"Me either" Gabriella said.

"I promise I'll back off a little bit. Not a lot. But, a little okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"And I only do it because I love you Gabriella" Troy said.

"I know and I know that you grew up even more since the miscarriage. You don't have to prove it. You only do it because you want to make sure that I'm okay and that's what I love about you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Thank you sweetheart. That means a lot to me. I wouldn't be doing what I am doing to try and gain control of you. I do it because I love you and want to take care of you" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"So are we cool?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled and nodded.

"Can I kiss you?" Troy asked.

Gabriella giggled and pulled Troy in and kissed his lips passionately. Troy pulled back slowly and moved a stray hair away from Gabriella's face.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I love you too. Do you want to go back home or stay a little longer?" Troy asked.

"Go home. All this arguing and stuff made me tired and hungry" Gabriella said.

Troy chuckled.

"Craving anything in particular since we are out?" Troy asked.

"My husband" Gabriella smirked.

Troy stood still and closed his eyes. He tried not to laugh.

"Don't worry baby. I was only kidding" Gabriella said.

"So that wasn't a mood swing?" Troy asked incredulously.

"Troy! I'm hungry, let's go" Gabriella said taking his hand.

The couple got into their own cars and drove home. A couple weeks later, Gabriella was in the living room picking up a toy from the floor when she closed her eyes and put her free hand on her bump.

"Mommy, are you okay?" Grace asked.

"Grace, go get daddy" Gabriella said trying to make her voice sound like she wasn't in pain.

Grace ran upstairs and into the master bedroom.

"Daddy!" Grace said.

"What's wrong, Gracie?" Troy asked knowing something was wrong by her voice.

"Mommy is hurting" Grace said.

Troy's eyes widened. He went downstairs and Grace followed.

"Brie?" Troy called.

"Living room" Gabriella said.

Troy walked into the living room and kneeled down to Gabriella's level, who was lying on the couch.

"Another contraction?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Is it over?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy smoothed back Gabriella's hair.

"Just relax okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy stood up and looked around the living room and didn't see Grace or Logan. He walked upstairs and went to Grace's room and poked his head in.

"Are you okay?" Troy asked.

"What's wrong with mommy?" Grace asked.

Troy smiled. He loved how protective Grace was of Gabriella. Troy walked over to the rocking chair that was in the corner of the room and motioned for her to come closer. Grace walked over to her father and Troy lifted her onto his lap.

"You know how mommy is going to have your baby sister?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"Well, her body is getting ready for baby sister to come out. That's why she has been hurting" Troy said.

"I don't want her to hurt mommy" Grace said.

Troy smiled.

"She does it on accident. She doesn't mean to do it" Troy said.

"It's scary" Grace said.

"I know it is. But, we have to help mommy as much as we can okay?" Troy said.

Grace nodded.

"After baby sister comes she won't be hurting anymore?" Grace asked.

"No" Troy said.

Grace put her head on her father's chest. Troy gently rocked back and forth on the chair and rubbed Grace's back. He looked down and Grace's eyes start to get heavy. Gabriella poked her head into the room and looked at Troy.

"Is she okay?" Gabriella mouthed.

Troy just nodded. He carefully stood up and Grace's eyes opened. Troy looked at his daughter and smiled.

"Do you want to take a nap?" Troy asked.

Grace shook her head.

"There's mommy" Troy said moving so Grace could see Gabriella.

Grace looked at Gabriella, who smiled at her.

"Hi baby" Gabriella said.

"Mommy, did baby sister stop hurting you?" Grace asked.

Gabriella looked at Troy and shook her head. She sat down on the floor carefully and opened her arms. Troy put Grace down and watched her walk over to her mother and sit down in her lap.

"Gracie, baby sister is hurting me because she's helping my body to get ready for her to come out" Gabriella said.

"Does it mean she will come out soon?" Grace asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Yeah. I'm sorry if I scared you" Gabriella said.

"It's okay mommy. Just don't scare daddy again" Grace said.

Gabriella giggled and kissed Grace's cheek. Troy, who was leaning against the door frame, chuckled at how thoughtful his eldest child was.

"Only if you continue to take good care of baby sister and I" Gabriella said.

Grace nodded excitedly.

"What is her name going to be?" Grace asked.

Gabriella looked at Troy, remembering that they still had to make that decision.

"I don't know yet baby. Daddy and I have to figure it out" Gabriella said.

"Gracie, why don't you pick a couple names and we will see if we like them?" Troy suggested.

"I can?" Grace asked.

"If you want to" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. She thought it was sweet of Troy to include Grace in that decision.

"But, you can't pick your own name" Gabriella said.

Grace nodded. Troy smiled.

"Alright, mommy needs to go lie down for a little bit okay?" Troy said.

"But I thought mommy was okay?" Grace asked.

Troy looked at Gabriella and shook his head.

"Your child. It's like she's a clone" Troy joked.

"Daddy" Grace said trying to get his attention.

Troy looked at Grace and smiled.

"Mommy is okay, Grace. She just needs to rest. I promise. If something was wrong, I would tell you sweetheart" Troy said.

"Okay" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Go downstairs and play" Troy said.

Grace left the room. Gabriella looked at Troy and smiled.

"That was sweet of you" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"I think that because she's the oldest, she can have a say in what we name the new baby" Troy said.

"I like that idea" Gabriella said.

"Logan can name the next one" Troy said.

"The next one?! Troy, how many kids do want to have?" Gabriella asked.

"We always talked about having a big family" Troy said.

"Yeah, but that was before we got pregnant with Grace and I'm still pregnant with this one" Gabriella said.

"Well, we still have time. We are young" Troy said.

Gabriella shook her head. A couple weeks later, Gabriella had an appointment with Dr. Brand. Troy couldn't make it because Maria couldn't watch the kids because she had work and Jack was at school. Gabriella was seven months pregnant and ready for the baby to come. She was anxious about it but she just wanted her daughter out. Gabriella walked into the house.

"Troy?" Gabriella called.

Troy walked into the living room and smiled.

"What did she say?" Troy asked.

"She said that she's okay. I booked the hospital and did all of that stuff" Gabriella said.

"Did you tell her about all the contractions that you have been having?" Troy asked.

"Yeah. She said that she may come early if I am having so many, but we have to wait and see" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"She said to rest" Gabriella continued.

"Anything else about the delivery?" Troy asked.

"No" Gabriella said putting her hand on her bump.

"Okay. Sorry I couldn't be there baby. I wanted to" Troy said.

"It's okay" Gabriella said.

"Daddy, I picked a couple of names for baby sister" Grace said.

"Ooh. What are they?" Troy asked.

Gabriella sat next to Troy. Troy put Gabriella's feet in his lap and started massaging his wife's swollen feet.

"Madeline but Maddie for short, Emma, and Elmo" Grace said.

Gabriella laughed at the last one.

"Sweetheart, we can't name the baby Elmo. That's a boy's name" Gabriella said.

"I like Emma. What do you think of that babe?" Troy asked looking at Gabriella.

"Emma Bolton. I like it. That's definitely one to go on the list" Gabriella said.

"Is that baby sister's name?" Grace asked.

"We'll see Gracie. Daddy and I have to talk about it" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Grace said.

Gabriella put her hand on her bump and smiled.

"Grace, do you want to feel baby sister kick?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded.

"Come here baby" Gabriella said.

Grace walked over to her mother.

"Put your hand here and let's see if she will kick" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled as he watched the two girls. He was pulled out of this thoughts when he heard Grace giggle.

"Feel that?" Gabriella asked.

Grace nodded.

"She's saying hi" Gabriella said.

"It tickles" Grace said.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

"I want her to come out now mommy" Grace said.

"I know you do. So do I, baby. But we have to wait a little longer" Gabriella said.

The couple and Grace continued to talk about the new addition to their family and couldn't wait for her arrival.


	20. I Can't Wait To See Your Face

A couple days later, Troy came home from visiting his parents and talking to the nurse and physical therapist about his mother's improvement. He sighed as he closed the door behind him. Troy leaned his back against the front door and closed his eyes. Gabriella was walking by the front door but backtracked when she saw Troy standing there.

"Babe, are you okay?" Gabriella asked.

"She's fighting with everyone" Troy said.

"She's a strong lady. Why is she fighting with everyone?" Gabriella asked walking closer to him.

"If you don't do it her way, she gets upset" Troy said.

"Troy, she's frustrated. She doesn't mean anything she says" Gabriella said.

"Yeah, but it's just crazy to think that a year ago, everything was normal" Troy said.

"Well, she's working on getting better. She's tired and wants to see improvement like you" Gabriella said putting her hand on Troy's face.

"I know. Maybe it's just me that is the frustrated one in this" Troy said.

"Well, maybe you need a break. I was thinking that it was such a nice day that the kids could go swimming and maybe you could teach Logan how to swim. What do you think?" Gabriella asked.

"Are you going swimming?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"I don't want to risk anything. But to get your mind off mom and everything that is going on, that is what I came up with" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella went upstairs and got the kids dressed in their swimsuits and they all walked into the backyard. Troy and Gabriella helped them put their floaties on. Troy got into the pool first and opened his arms. Gabriella helped Logan get into the pool and Troy took him into arms. Grace, who already knew how to swim got in and started swimming. Gabriella sat on the edge and put her feet in.

"Daddy, I don't like it" Logan said.

"Logan, it's fun though. Look at Grace. See, she's having fun" Troy said still holding onto his son.

"I'm scared" Logan said.

"I got you. Don't worry buddy" Troy said.

Troy taught Logan how to swim and swam with him and Grace. Gabriella had been right about swimming with the kids would make Troy relax. A couple hours later, Grace and Logan were taking their afternoon nap. Gabriella was lying on the couch. Troy walked into the living room and smiled.

"Feeling okay?" Troy asked.

"She's kicking my bladder" Gabriella said putting her hand on her bump.

Troy smiled slightly.

"When's your next appointment?" Troy asked.

"Next week. I can't believe there's only a month and a half left until she comes" Gabriella said.

"I know. I can't wait to meet her" Troy said sitting down and putting Gabriella's feet in his lap.

"Me too. I'm still scared, but I'm trying not to think about it" Gabriella said.

"I'll be with you the whole time. Everyone there is only there to help you get through it. We'll see what happens" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. A couple weeks later, Gabriella was eight months pregnant. Dr. Brand had said the baby was healthy and very active. The couple had settled on a name for her. They were going to name her Emma, like Grace wanted. Troy was slowing down with work so that he could be home if something happened. One night, Troy moved his arm in his sleep so that it was on Gabriella's side. But not feeling Gabriella's body next to him, woke him. Troy looked around the room sleepily. He got up and walked over to the bathroom and saw the light shining from under the door. Troy knocked on the door and wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"Brie, are you okay in there?" Troy asked.

"My body aches so I wanted to take a bath" Gabriella said through the door.

"Is it your back babe?" Troy asked leaning against the doorframe of the closed bathroom door.

Troy didn't want to walk in without permission from his wife because he didn't want her to feel like she had to expose herself to him.

"My lower back" Gabriella said.

"That's all?" Troy asked.

"She's been kicking hard too. You can come in if you want" Gabriella said.

Troy poked his head in and smiled sympathetically. He walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

"She wants to bother me until I go into labor" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"She just wants to remind you that she's there" Troy said.

"Yeah" Gabriella said.

"Something else is bothering you" Troy said.

Gabriella tried to hide the nervous look on her face.

"Baby, talk to me" Troy said.

"Just thinking" Gabriella said.

"About what sweetie?" Troy asked put his hand on top of her wet one.

"About the c-section. It sounds stupid to-" Gabriella started.

"Brie, you being scared of having someone cut you open so that a doctor can take a baby out of you isn't stupid. Nothing you feel is stupid. You are scared and that's normal and completely okay. I'm scared too. But, you know what's making me not scared?" Troy asked.

"No" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly.

"Being able to see Emma for the first time and waiting so long for her to come. She's going to be our miracle baby. Whenever I get scared, I always think of who and what she will look like or how happy we all will be when she is here safe and sound" Troy said.

Tears ran down Gabriella's cheeks.

"There was always a part of me that thought we wouldn't get pregnant after the miscarriage, but we did. She really is our miracle baby" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded and wiped the tears that were running down her cheeks.

"That's what is getting me through it. She's healthy and that's all that matters" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Just picture holding her and that will not make you scared, but ready for her to come" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Thanks babe" Gabriella mumbled.

Troy smiled.

"If you are scared, I want you to talk to me Brie. I don't want you to hold it in because you think I wil freak out or get upset. Don't worry about that" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed her forehead softly. Gabriella put her hands on Troy's face and moved it down to her level and kissed his lips.

"Are you ready to get out?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Troy helped Gabriella get out of the tub. Gabriella got dressed and came out of the bathroom. The couple got back into bed. Gabriella was snuggled as close as she could get.

"Wake me up if you need me okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too baby. Get some sleep" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. A couple days later, Troy had finished painting Emma's room and had moved all of the furniture that Gabriella had picked out in.

"Brie, do you want to see it?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Gabriella said from the master bedroom.

Gabriella walked down the hall to Emma's room, which originally was Troy's home office. She looked into the room and smiled.

"I love it" Gabriella said wrapping her arms around Troy to the best of her ability because of her expanding bump.

Troy smiled. He put his arm around Gabriella's shoulder and kissed her cheek.

"It's perfect. Thank you baby" Gabriella said.

"No problem. Now, all that we need is a baby" Troy said putting his hand on his wife's stomach and feeling his daughter kick.

"Well, you will have to have a discussion with your daughter about that" Gabriella joked.

Troy smiled.

"Not for a couple more weeks. We don't want her to come too early" Troy said.

"Yeah but at the same time, I want her out" Gabriella said.

"I know. Just keep her in there for a little longer" Troy said.

Logan walked into the room and looked around.

"Mommy, is this baby sister's room?" Logan asked.

"Yeah baby. Are you excited for her to come?" Gabriella asked.

Logan nodded. He couldn't wait to be a big brother and was already making plans of what he was going to teach his little sister. That night, Gabriella was sitting in the living room with a blanket covering her. The baby decided to make her the most uncomfortable that she had been the whole pregnancy. She heard footsteps and then felt a kiss on her forehead. Gabriella opened her eyes and smiled.

"What are you doing down here this late baby?" Troy asked softly.

"I'm just uncomfortable" Gabriella said putting her hand on her bump.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Troy asked.

"I didn't want to. You worked on Emma's room all day and need sleep" Gabriella said.

"You need sleep more than I do and you shouldn't be worrying about me. What hurts?" Troy asked.

"Everything" Gabriella said.

"Cramps or pain?" Troy asked.

"A mixture of both" Gabriella said.

"Where?" Troy asked.

"My whole body" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I'm tired of taking baths every night. So that's why I'm down here" Gabriella said.

Troy sat down next to Gabriella, who snuggled into her husband's chest.

"Do I need to call Dr. Brand?" Troy asked.

Gabriella shook her head.

"Are you sure babe?" Troy asked putting his hand on the small of her back.

Gabriella nodded.

"Just sit here with me" Gabriella said.

"If it doesn't get better in the next hour, I'm calling" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. An hour later, Gabriella had gone to the bathroom. Troy was downstairs waiting for her to come back down. He heard footsteps coming closer to the living room. Gabriella came into the room with her hand on her bump.

"Troy?" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella.

"You okay?" Troy asked.

"You better take a shower and call Chad and Tay" Gabriella said.

"What's wrong, Brie?" Troy asked concerned.

"My water broke" Gabriella said.

"But, you are only eight months" Troy said.

"I don't think she cares" Gabriella said.

"Okay. Let me call Chad first. Sit down and relax" Troy said.

Gabriella sat down on the couch. He called Chad, who came over immediately so that he could stay with Grace and Logan. Troy took a shower and picked up Gabriella's hospital bag and went downstairs to the living room.

"Thanks for doing this, Chad" Troy said.

"No problem. Now go have your third child" Chad said patting his best friend on the back.

Troy turned to Gabriella, who was breathing through a contraction. He kneeled in front of her and offered her his hand. Gabriella took his hand gratefully. Once it ended, Troy smiled.

"You ready to go have a baby?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded with tears in her eyes.

"Okay, let's get you to the hospital sweetheart" Troy said.

Troy and Chad helped Gabriella stand up and walk to the front door. The couple left the house. Once in the car, Troy looked at Gabriella.

"How are you feeling baby?" Troy asked.

"Like I'm in labor" Gabriella said.

"Stupid question" Troy mumbled.

Troy drove to the hospital and parked his car. Nurses came with a wheelchair and helped Gabriella sit down. They wheeled her up to a hospital room, while Troy filled out forms. After Troy finished, he was brought up to Gabriella's room. He smiled sympathetically when he saw her laying on her side, breathing through a contraction. Troy quickly sat down in the chair that was next to the hospital bed and took Gabriella's hand in his own. He could feel her relax as soon as he took her hand.

"I'm here. You are doing great, honey" Troy said.

After it ended, Gabriella relaxed against the bed. She was already in a hospital gown and hooked up to a fetal monitor.

"It's going faster than I remember it" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"A little bit. I left a message for mom while I was filling out your forms" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Thank you" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek softly.

"I'm right here okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded nervously. There was a knock on the door and a nurse, who had dark hair that was pulled up into a ponytail and was petite came into the room.

"Hi Gabriella, I'm Annie and I will be your nurse" Annie said.

"Hi" Gabriella said.

"I need to check you and I will call Dr. Brand for you" Annie said.

Gabriella nodded. She spread her legs apart and closed her eyes.

"Wait…" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at Gabriella, whose forehead creased and her grip on his hand increased. Gabriella started breathing through the contraction.

"Just breathe baby" Troy said.

Gabriella breathed through the contraction and sighed after it ended.

"It's done?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded. Annie checked Gabriella and wrote notes in her chart. She looked at the couple and smiled.

"You are at a three right now. I will call Dr. Brand and she will be arriving shortly" Annie said.

Gabriella nodded. Annie left the hospital room. Gabriella turned onto her side again and squeezed Troy's hand. Troy smoothed back Gabriella's hair and kissed her forehead.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.

"Pain" Gabriella mumbled.

"You can always get the epidural, Brie" Troy said.

Gabriella shook her head tiredly. An hour later, Dr. Brand had come in and smiled at the couple.

"Hi Gabi, are you ready?" Dr. Brand asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be" Gabriella said.

"I'm just going to check you and see if you have progressed okay?" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded. She spread her legs apart and gripped Troy's hand. Dr. Brand checked Gabriella and looked up and smiled.

"You are still at three, honey. Once you get to five, I am going to do an ultrasound just to check and see if she flipped or not. She may have surprised us" Dr. Brand said.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

"Hang in there. If you want an epidural, page Annie" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella nodded. As soon as Dr. Brand left, Gabriella moaned.

"It's okay sweetheart. Just breathe" Troy said.

Gabriella breathed through the contraction and relaxed once it ended.

"It hurts more than Grace and Logan combined" Gabriella said.

"But you are doing it without even a bead of sweat on your face. I think that is pretty good" Troy said.

"I just want her out" Gabriella said.

"I know you do baby" Troy said.

"The ultrasound will be the determining factor whether I have a c-section or not" Gabriella said.

"How do you know that?" Troy asked placing his hand on top of her bump.

"I looked it up a couple weeks ago" Gabriella said.

"We'll see what happens. Just focus on the contractions and nothing else right now okay?" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Hours passed and Gabriella was feeling more and more pain. Dr. Brand had done an ultrasound and saw that the baby was still in the same position. Gabriella didn't even react to it. She could feel what was coming. Troy held Gabriella's hand as she breathed through another contraction. After it ended, she choked out a sob.

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't cry baby. It's okay. You are doing so good" Troy said.

"It hurts and I'm scared" Gabriella said.

"I know. But, everything will turn out okay" Troy said.

"Turn isn't the word choice I would have used" Gabriella said.

"You know what I mean. I love you and our baby girl is going to be here soon" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled and nodded. A couple hours later, Annie came back into the hospital room and smiled.

"Gabriella, I'm just going to check you again okay?" Annie said.

Gabriella nodded. Annie lifted the sheet that was covering Gabriella's legs and examined her. She wrote notes in her chart.

"You are at a five. I am going to get Dr. Brand because your chart says that she wants to do an ultrasound once you hit five" Annie said.

The couple nodded. Twenty minutes later, Dr. Brand came into the room and smiled.

"How are you feeling, Gabi?" Dr. Brand asked.

"Pain. I think she is more painful than Grace and Logan combined" Gabriella said.

"You always have the option of the epidural. I'm going to do an ultrasound and we'll see how the baby is doing and if we need to do a c-section or not" Dr. Brand explained.

The couple nodded. Dr. Brand moved Gabriella's gown up and let the ultrasound heat up. Once it heated, Dr. Brand took a bottle of gel and squeezed some of the product onto Gabriella's bump and started moving it around with a wand. She and the couple looked at the monitor. Dr. Brand looked closely at the monitor and pointed.

"There's your baby girl" Dr. Brand said.

The couple smiled. Dr. Brand moved the wand around and stopped. She typed in something and clicked something on the monitor. Dr. Brand sighed.

"Gabi" Dr. Brand said.

Gabriella's eyes filled with tears.

"What's wrong?" Gabriella asked.

"The cord is wrapped around her neck" Dr. Brand said.

"What does that mean?" Troy asked.

"It means that we need to do a c-section as soon as possible" Dr. Brand said.

"No" Gabriella cried.

Troy's eyes softened.

"Babe, it's going to be okay. I know you are scared" Troy said softly.

"Troy" Gabriella cried.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek and then her forehead.

"When do we do it?" Troy asked.

"We will wheel her to the OR right now. You need to get dressed into scrubs. Annie will help direct you to where you need to be" Dr. Brand said.

"I want him to come with me" Gabriella cried.

"Gabi, listen to me. Troy will be there with you. We need to prep you and he needs to change into scrubs and he will be right there after that okay? Don't worry" Dr. Brand said.

Troy smiled sympathetically. Dr. Brand and a couple other nurses unlocked the hospital bed. Troy leaned over and kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I'll be there soon, baby. I promise. Be brave. I love you" Troy whispered into her ear.

"Hurry" Gabriella whispered through her tears.

Troy nodded. Gabriella was wheeled out of the room and Troy was taken to go change. Twenty minutes later, Troy's face was light pink from the tears that had run down his face. He took a deep breath and tried to compose himself. Annie came into the changing room.

"Troy? We are ready for you" Annie said.

Troy nodded. Annie and Troy walked into the OR. Troy's heart was pounding so fast he thought he was going to have a heart attack. His heart calmed down when he saw Gabriella's face. Annie pulled out a chair for him and Troy sat at Gabriella's head. There was a sheet set up so that they couldn't see what was going on. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said tearfully.

"You feeling okay?" Troy asked.

"She numbed me from the neck down and I feel kind of sleepy" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's forehead.

"I'm glad that you were allowed in here with me" Gabriella said.

"Me too sweetheart. Even if I wasn't allowed to be, I would have fought with everyone to do so" Troy said.

"Gabriella, we are going to start okay? You are going to feel some pressure" Dr. Brand said from over the sheet.

Troy took Gabriella's hand in his own.

"You ready to be a mommy for the third time?" Troy asked.

Gabriella's eyes filled with tears and nodded. She groaned and took deep breath.

"Just breathe through it, babe. You are doing so good" Troy said smoothing her hair back.

Gabriella took a deep breath and released it.

"I'm getting really sleepy, Troy" Gabriella said.

Troy looked at the nurse, who smiled.

"It's normal, Troy. Don't worry. It's the sedative" Annie said.

Troy nodded.

"It's okay baby. You are doing great" Troy said kissing Gabriella's head.

Gabriella closed her eyes and her brow creased.

"Pressure" Gabriella mumbled.

A half hour later, Gabriella was in and out of sleep.

"Okay Gabriella, you ready to meet your baby girl?" Dr. Brand asked.

Gabriella's eyes shot up and stayed that way.

"Yes" Gabriella said faintly.

Troy smiled. A couple minutes later, a cry was heard. Gabriella started sobbing. Troy had tears running down his face. He looked down at Gabriella and smiled.

"I love you baby" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Then everything went black.


	21. Baby Sister Love

Gabriella woke up to feeling warmth on her body. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was back in her original hospital room. She looked around the room until she looked to the side of the bed and saw Troy sitting in the chair that he had been sitting in while she was in labor, holding a bundle in his arms. He looked up at Gabriella and smiled.

"Hey sleepy head. How are you feeling?" Troy asked.

"What happened?" Gabriella asked tiredly.

Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek softly.

"The sedative made you fall asleep" Troy said.

"I didn't faint?" Gabriella asked.

Troy shook his head.

"No. Once you fell asleep, everyone got you and Emma cleaned up. Then she got checked out by a pediatrician and they said that she is completely healthy. After that, you were rolled back here" Troy explained.

"Oh" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled.

"Would you like to meet our second daughter, Gabriella?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled and nodded. She carefully sat up and placed Emma into Gabriella's arms. Gabriella looked down at her daughter and smiled.

"Hi Emma, I'm your mommy" Gabriella said.

"What are her stats?" Gabriella asked.

"Seven pounds, eight ounces, nineteen inches long" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"She's perfect" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"While you were sleeping, I was telling her how excited her big sister and brother are going to be when they see her" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled.

"They will be. I'm really okay?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"Do you remember talking to me during it?" Troy asked.

"Vaguely" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly.

"You did great, baby" Troy said.

Gabriella put her hand on top of Troy's.

"If you weren't there, I would have been freaking out" Gabriella said.

"If I wasn't there, I would have been freaking out" Troy said.

Gabriella looked down and smiled at Emma.

"Hi baby girl" Gabriella said softly.

Troy smiled.

"I called mom and told her that you had Emma. I then called dad and told him too. He will bring the kids later today" Troy said.

"What time is it?" Gabriella asked.

"Nine in the morning" Troy said.

"I'm so out of it" Gabriella said.

"You just had major surgery. It comes with the territory" Troy said.

"Three babies" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Three beautiful babies. We've been through so much in the last five years" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"This is how it should have felt when Grace was born" Gabriella said.

"Well, now we can give them everything we dreamed of at the beginning" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"We can start from scratch" Gabriella said.

"Exactly" Troy said.

"I love you Troy. Thanks for making me a mommy for the third time. A lot has happened in the last two years and you always manage to keep it together. I couldn't have pictured marrying anyone else and choosing a better father for my babies" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips softly.

"I love you too. Thank you for making me a daddy again. There have been a lot of changes in the last couple years but we have always managed to get through it together and I know that with Emma, it will be the same" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. A couple hours later and after a much needed nap for the couple, there was a knock on the door. Troy walked to the door and opened it and smiled.

"Hey guys. Do you want to meet your baby sister?" Troy asked.

"Yeah" Grace and Logan said simultaneously.

"Okay, come on" Troy said.

Troy, Jack, and the kids walked into the hospital room. Gabriella looked up and smiled.

"Hi guys" Gabriella said.

"Mommy, where's baby sister?" Logan asked.

"She's right here, baby" Gabriella said.

Troy lifted Grace and Logan onto the bed and they crawled next to Gabriella, leaving her in the middle.

"What's her name mommy?" Grace asked.

"Her name is Emma" Gabriella said.

"She looks like you and Logan when you were both babies" Troy said.

"Can I give her a kiss mommy?" Grace asked.

"Yeah. Just be very gentle okay?" Gabriella said.

Grace kissed Emma's head softly and sat back up and smiled.

"Logan, do you want to give your sister a kiss too?" Gabriella asked.

Logan nodded. Troy smiled. Logan kissed Emma's head softly and looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"What do you think Logan? Should we keep her?" Troy asked.

"Baby sister" Logan said.

"Yeah, baby sister. Do you love her?" Troy asked.

Logan nodded. The couple smiled.

"Dad, do you want to hold her?" Gabriella asked.

"Sure" Jack said.

Jack walked over to Gabriella and scooped Emma into his arms.

"Hi Emma, I'm your Papa" Jack said.

The couple smiled.

"Mommy, when are you coming home?" Grace asked.

"In a couple days, Gracie. Emma needs to be checked out by her doctor to make sure she's healthy" Gabriella said.

"How early was she?" Jack asked.

"A month" Troy said.

"Mom would be sobbing if she saw her" Jack said looking down at his granddaughter.

Gabriella rubbed Troy's arm soothingly. Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"Yeah, she would be" Troy said.

Everyone talked for a little while longer. Troy walked them out and came back to the hospital room.

"You okay?" Gabriella asked.

"I should be asking you that question" Troy said kissing Gabriella's lips.

"I'm fine. Just a little tender when I move around. Stitches should be removed soon. Troy, talk to me" Gabriella said softly putting her hand on top of his.

"It was just weird to see him meet his granddaughter without mom" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"We can bring her to the house when we get discharged" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"You should get some rest. You just had a c-section, which is major surgery. Go to sleep baby" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Can you call my mom while I'm sleeping please?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, and I'll bring Em to the nursery" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled hearing Troy's nickname for Emma.

"Okay" Gabriella said.

Troy leaned in and kissed Gabriella's lips passionately.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too. I didn't mean to upset you about mom" Gabriella said.

"You didn't. It is just weird to think about, that's all. I'm okay" Troy said.

"You sure?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded.

"Get some sleep okay?" Troy said softly

Gabriella nodded. She closed her eyes. Troy looked down at Emma and smiled.

"Come on baby, let's go take you to the nursery" Troy said.

Troy placed Emma carefully into the crib that was provided in the hospital room and rolled it down the hall to the nursery. He came back a couple minutes later and smiled when he saw Gabriella sleeping soundly. Troy walked over to the bed that was next to the hospital bed and lied down and fell asleep himself. The next day, Gabriella and Emma were discharged from the hospital. Gabriella still had her stitches and had to be careful with the kids and Emma. Troy unlocked the front door and smiled when he saw Grace run toward him.

"Hi baby. Were you good for Papa?" Troy asked.

"We made smoothies daddy" Grace said.

"You did? That sounds good. Can I get a kiss?" Troy asked.

Grace kissed Troy's lips.

"Thank you. Where's your brother?" Troy asked.

"He's sad" Grace said.

"Why is he sad?" Troy asked.

"Because of Emma" Grace said.

Troy nodded.

"Mommy is coming in with Emma okay? Can you help her if she needs you to? I'm going to go talk to Logan" Troy said.

Grace nodded. Troy looked at his father.

"Where's my son?" Troy asked.

"Playing in his room" Jack said.

Troy walked upstairs and went to Logan's room and knocked on the open door. Logan looked up and smiled.

"Hi daddy" Logan said.

"Hi buddy. What are you doing?" Troy asked closing the door and sitting on the floor with his son, who was playing with his cars.

"Playing" Logan said.

"Mommy and I brought Emma home" Troy said.

Logan nodded.

"Are you upset about something Logan?" Troy asked.

"I'm not the baby anymore" Logan said.

Troy smiled.

"You liked being the baby?" Troy asked.

Logan nodded.

"And you are sad that Emma stole your spot?" Troy asked.

"I like her daddy. But, I'm supposed to be the baby. Not Emma" Logan said.

Troy nodded.

"But now, she is going to look up to you because she's your little sister. It's like you looking up to Grace and her teaching you how to do things. You are Emma's big brother" Troy said.

Gabriella poked her into Logan's room with Emma and smiled.

"Hi Logan" Gabriella said.

"Hi mommy" Logan said.

"Can we join you and daddy?" Gabriella asked holding Emma.

Logan nodded. Gabriella sat down on Logan's bed.

"Logan feels like Emma stole his spot in being the baby" Troy said.

"Logan, is that true?" Gabriella asked.

Logan whined and tried to bury himself in his bed. Gabriella placed Emma into Troy's arms. She then curled up next to her son.

"Logan, look at mommy please" Gabriella said.

Logan looked at Gabriella.

"Logan, are always going to be my baby, you know why?" Gabriella asked.

"Why?" Logan asked.

"Because you are my baby boy. You have a big sister and a little sister. You are the only boy and I love you so much. You and daddy have to deal with girls" Gabriella said.

Troy chuckled.

"I want to be the baby still" Logan said.

"I know you do baby. But, everyone has to grow up and get bigger and do things that big kids and mommy's and daddy's do. Don't you want to grow up?" Gabriella asked.

Logan nodded.

"See. Babies grow up to be kids, like you, then they grow up to be big kids, and then mommy's and daddy's" Gabriella said.

"Emma will do the same and Grace did it too" Gabriella said.

Logan blinked a couple times. Gabriella opened her arms and Logan crawled into them.

"I love you" Gabriella said.

"I love you too mommy" Logan said.

The couple and Logan talked for a little while longer. That night, Gabriella was lying in bed feeding Emma. There was a knock on the bedroom door, which was closed.

"Who is it?" Gabriella asked.

"Mommy I want to say good night" Grace said through the door.

"Okay baby. Give me a couple minutes and I will come in. Go brush your teeth while you wait" Gabriella said through the door.

"Okay mommy" Grace said.

Gabriella heard Grace run down the hall to the bathroom. There was another knock on the door.

"Brie? It's me. Can I come in?" Troy asked.

"Let me finish feeding Emma and then you can" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

A couple minutes later, Gabriella finished feeding Emma and had changed into her pajamas. Gabriella walked out of the bedroom and Troy, who was waiting in the hallway, looked at her.

"Everything okay?" Troy asked.

"Yeah. She just took a while to start eating" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said opening his arms.

Gabriella placed Emma into his arms and smiled.

"Come on, let's go say night night to your brother and sister" Troy said looking down at his youngest daughter.

The couple and Emma said goodnight to Grace and Logan. Troy and Gabriella then walked back to their room. Troy lied down on their bed with Emma laying on his chest.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.

"Sore" Gabriella said.

"When do the stitches come out?" Troy asked.

"Probably when I go for my post-op appointment" Gabriella said.

Emma started to get fussy. Troy stood up with his daughter in his arms and gently bounced her to get her to go back to sleep.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" Troy asked.

"My mom wanted to come meet her" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I have to run by the office in the morning, but after that, I will be home" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy looked down at Emma and smiled.

"Do you like being held by daddy?" Gabriella asked the newborn.

Troy kissed Emma's head carefully.

"I think she likes you holding her like that" Gabriella said.

"Are you going to go to sleep?" Troy asked looking down at his daughter.

Emma's eyes closed slowly. Troy smiled and walked over to the portable crib and lied Emma down in it.

"Love you Em" Troy said.

Troy turned and looked at Gabriella, who had tears running down her face.

"It's the hormones" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He got into bed and kissed Gabriella's cheek. Gabriella pulled Troy in and kissed his lips.

"These stitches suck" Gabriella said when Troy pulled away.

"Can I see?" Troy asked.

"It looks bad" Gabriella said.

"I'm sure that it doesn't look bad. You just had a baby, Brie" Troy said softly.

Gabriella put her hand on the bottom of her shirt and was about to pull it up when Troy stopped her by putting his hands on top of hers.

"You don't need to show me if you don't want to baby. I just hadn't seen where you were cut or anything" Troy said.

Gabriella's eyes filled with tears.

"It was really scary being in there before you came in" Gabriella said.

Troy put his hand on Gabriella's cheek.

"My hands were shaking when I was putting on scrubs" Troy said.

"They put me on my back and my arms out, like how I was lying there when you came in. They put this nasty smelling stuff on my stomach and then they numbed me. After they did that, you came in" Gabriella said.

"I wish I could have been there the whole time" Troy said wiping the tears that were falling.

"Me too" Gabriella said.

"What are we going to do about my mom meeting Emma? Are we going to or how do you want to go about it?" Troy asked changing the subject.

"I want her to meet Emma. She deserves to meet her. I don't know if she can hold her so one of us will have to do that" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. The next day, the doorbell rang. Grace ran to the door.

"Daddy, can I open it?" Grace asked.

"Yeah, go ahead" Troy said.

Grace opened the door and smiled when she saw Maria.

"Hi baby! I missed you" Maria said hugging and kissing her eldest granddaughter.

"Hi mom" Troy said.

"Hi honey, where is everybody?" Maria asked.

"Logan, Brie, and Emma are in the living room" Troy said.

They all walked into the living room. Tears formed in Maria's eyes when she saw Gabriella holding Emma.

"Gabi, she's gorgeous" Maria said sitting next to her daughter.

"Do you want to hold her?" Gabriella asked.

Maria nodded. Gabriella carefully placed Emma into Maria's arms.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't be there" Maria said.

"We had it under control" Gabriella said.

"Everything went alright?" Maria asked.

The couple nodded.

"Yeah, I just made my post-op appointment so the stitches will be removed soon" Gabriella said.

Maria nodded.

"Grace, how do you like being an older sister?" Maria asked.

"I love her" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled.

"How's Logan been handling it?" Maria asked looking at Troy and Gabriella.

"He's still getting used to it. It's an adjustment" Troy said.

Maria nodded. She looked down at Emma and kissed her head. Everyone talked for a little while longer. A couple weeks later, Gabriella came home from her post-op appointment.

"Troy?" Gabriella called.

"Changing a diaper" Troy said from upstairs.

Gabriella smiled. She walked upstairs and into Emma's room.

"Hi baby" Gabriella said.

"Hi. How was Dr. Brand's?" Troy asked.

"Fine. She removed the stitches" Gabriella said.

"Everything looked okay?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"How did she do today?" Gabriella asking about her infant daughter.

"She was good today. We had some milk, we took a nap on daddy, screamed and cried for a couple hours, changed a couple diapers, and smiled when mommy came home" Troy said.

Gabriella giggled. She opened her arms as Troy finished changing his daughter's diaper.

Troy placed Emma into Gabriella's arms and kissed her head.

"Is she doing okay with the bottle?" Gabriella asked.

"Sometimes. She threw up on me today. So I guess it wasn't a good day" Troy said.

Gabriella kissed Troy's cheek softly.

"Sorry baby" Gabriella said.

"But she's still much easier than Grace and Logan put together. Grace helped me feed her" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"How did she like that?" Gabriella asked.

"She liked it. I think the two of them are going to be close" Troy said.

"Are they down for their nap?" Gabriella asked.

"They are with your mom. She called and asked to take them" Troy said.

"Good. Are they going to stay there for the night or are they coming back?" Gabriella asked.

"She offered to keep them" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"So we only have one baby until tomorrow? What will we do daddy?" Gabriella asked looking at Emma in her arms.

Troy smiled. The couple and Emma relaxed around the house for the remainder of the day. They couldn't wait to see where this next chapter in their lives would take them.


	22. I Don't Feel Beautiful

That night, Troy was sleeping on his stomach with one of his arms draped around Gabriella. He heard a cry from down the hall and opened his eyes tiredly. Troy looked over at Gabriella, who was sleeping soundly. He didn't have the heart to wake her up. Gabriella had been getting up and staying up when Emma cried. Troy carefully unwrapped his arm from Gabriella and got out of bed and walked down the hall. He walked into his daughter's room and smiled. Troy picked Emma up and kissed her head.

"Shh…let's go get you some milk baby" Troy said rubbing the newborn's back gently.

Troy walked downstairs with Emma in his arms. He went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and picked up a bottle of milk and closed the fridge. Troy put the bottle in the microwave and let it heat up. He looked at Emma and smiled. The timer went off and Troy took out the bottle and tested it on his hand. He then put the bottle to his daughter's mouth and watched her start to drink. Troy smiled. He walked into the living room and lied down on the couch carefully. Troy watched Emma drink her bottle and smiled. A couple minutes later, Emma finished her milk and Troy put the bottle into the dishwasher. He walked upstairs and went back into Emma's room and placed her on the changing table. Troy checked her diaper and sighed. He changed his daughter's diaper and then lifted her into his arms.

"Good night baby girl. I love you" Troy said kissing Emma's head softly.

Troy placed Emma into her crib and made sure she wasn't going to cry. When she didn't, Troy walked out of the room and went back to the bedroom and got back into bed. Gabriella turned over and opened her eyes.

"Did you just-" Gabriella started.

"I took care of it. She's good" Troy said.

"Sorry" Gabriella said.

"Why are you sorry? I'm her dad. She's my responsibility too" Troy said.

"Yeah, but-" Gabriella started but was interrupted.

"No buts. Go back to sleep Brie" Troy said kissing his wife's cheek.

"Best husband ever" Gabriella mumbled.

Troy smiled. Later that day, Gabriella came downstairs with Emma and smiled when she saw Grace sitting on the couch.

"Mommy, can I hold baby sister?" Grace asked.

"Yeah, hold on" Gabriella said.

Gabriella walked over to the couch that Grace was sitting on and put pillows on both sides of her. She then carefully placed Emma into Grace's arms and smiled.

"Remember to hold her head, Gracie" Gabriella said.

Grace looked down at her little sister and smiled. Emma yawned and let out a cry.

"It's okay. Don't cry" Grace said.

Gabriella smiled. She grabbed her phone and took a picture.

"Thank you for being so gentle with Emma, sweetheart" Gabriella said.

"Emma, I am your big sister, Grace. I'm going to teach you how to do things" Grace said.

"So cute" Gabriella said to no one in particular.

Grace kissed Emma's forehead and smiled.

"Can I take baby sister now?" Gabriella asked.

"Yes mommy" Grace said.

Gabriella picked Emma up and smiled. Troy walked into the room and smiled.

"What are we doing ladies?" Troy asked sitting next to Grace.

"I held Emma, daddy" Grace said.

"You did?" Troy asked.

Grace nodded.

"Has Logan tried?" Troy asked his wife.

Gabriella shook her head.

"Does he not like her?" Gabriella asked.

"He is adjusting, Brie. Grace was the same way when Logan was born" Troy said.

"Can you take her for a minute? I'm going to go see what's up" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. He lifted Emma out of Gabriella's arms and smiled when she was safely in his arms. Gabriella walked upstairs into Logan's room.

"What are you doing baby?" Gabriella asked.

"Playing" Logan said.

"Do you want to hold baby sister? Grace just did" Gabriella said.

Logan shook his head.

"Are you sad?" Gabriella asked.

Logan nodded.

"Logan, daddy and I love you so much okay?" Gabriella said.

"I love you too" Logan said.

Gabriella smiled.

"Come here" Gabriella said.

Logan moved into Gabriella's arms. Gabriella kissed her son's head.

"We want you to be happy, Logan" Gabriella said.

"Can I hold baby sister?" Logan asked.

Gabriella smiled.

"Do you want to?" Gabriella asked moving a stray hair out of Logan's face.

Logan nodded.

"Okay, come on" Gabriella said.

Gabriella and Logan walked downstairs. Troy smiled when he saw them walking into the living room.

"Sit right here baby" Gabriella said.

Logan sat on the couch. Gabriella placed pillows around Logan. She looked at Troy and smiled. Troy carefully placed Emma into Logan's arms.

"Hold onto her, Logan" Troy said.

Logan looked at his newborn sister in his arms and smiled slightly. Troy looked at Gabriella and smiled.

"What do you think bud?" Troy asked.

Gabriella smiled.

"She's tiny" Logan said.

"She's a baby" Gabriella said.

Emma cried. Logan's face turned from happy to nervous, not knowing what to do about his crying sister.

"Mommy has to take baby sister now, okay?" Gabriella said lifting Emma out of Logan's arms.

"Why is she crying?" Logan asked.

"Babies cry all the time, Logan. They need to be with their mommies and daddies most of the time when they are little" Troy said.

"Oh" Logan said.

Gabriella rubbed Emma's back and bounced her gently in her arms. When Emma finally calmed down, Gabriella smiled.

"She's hungry" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella walked upstairs to the bedroom and shut the door behind her. A couple hours later, Troy walked downstairs and smiled when he saw Gabriella feeding Emma. Gabriella looked up and blushed.

"Do you want to be alone?" Troy asked.

"You are fine" Gabriella said looking down at her daughter.

"I'm going to go over to Chad's. Are you going to be okay with all of them here by yourself?" Troy asked.

"Once Emma goes down for her nap, I'll be okay" Gabriella said.

"Do you want me to stay until she goes down?" Troy asked

"No, you go" Gabriella said.

"Are you sure babe? I can stay until she's down" Troy said.

Gabriella bit her lip. She was kind of nervous staying by herself with all three kids.

"Gabriella" Troy said pulling her out her thoughts.

"Stay until I put her down" Gabriella said.

"Okay" Troy said.

"I just think for a while, or at least until both of us get used to it, we need to put her down together" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I agree" Troy said.

Two hours later, Troy carried a sleeping Emma into her room. He placed the newborn into her crib.

"Night baby girl. Have a good nap" Troy said kissing his daughter's head.

Troy made sure that Emma wasn't going to start crying. He then left the room and poked his head into the master bedroom.

"I'm going to go to Chad's. Emma's down for her nap" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. She got off the bed and walked over to Troy and kissed his lips.

"Thank you" Gabriella said.

"No problem. Do you need anything while I am out?" Troy asked.

"Can you get a package of diapers for me?" Gabriella asked.

Troy nodded. Gabriella smiled.

"Thank you baby" Gabriella said.

"No problem. If you need anything else, let me know" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy kissed Gabriella's lips again.

"Troy?" Gabriella called.

Troy looked at his wife.

"I love you" Gabriella said sweetly.

Troy smiled.

"I love you too" Troy said.

Troy left the house and went to Chad's. A couple hours later, Gabriella was swaying side to side with Emma in her arms.

"Go back to sleep baby, please" Gabriella said looking down at her daughter.

Gabriella didn't hear the front door open. She looked up and saw Troy in the doorway.

"Did she just wake up?" Troy asked putting a package of diapers on the counter.

"Yeah. But she is still sleepy. I can tell" Gabriella said looking down at the crying newborn.

"Let me try" Troy said.

Gabriella carefully placed Emma into Troy's arms. Troy looked at Emma and smiled. He swayed side to side, like Gabriella had done previously and slowly, Emma's cries stopped. Troy kissed Emma's head softly.

"Looks like she just wanted daddy" Gabriella said.

"Daddy's girl" Troy said.

"Well, both girls are daddy's girls. Logan's mine" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled. He looked down at Emma.

"Did she eat?" Troy asked.

"Not yet. I was going to feed her once she stopped crying" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Do we have any bottles?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, do you want to feed her?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah. Plus, it will give you a break" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled. She walked into the kitchen and came back into the living room a couple moments later with a bottle of milk. Gabriella handed it to Troy and watched him put the bottle to Emma's mouth. Troy smiled as he saw Emma start drinking. Gabriella smiled. She sat on the couch and watched Troy feed their daughter.

"How was Chad?" Gabriella asked.

"Fine. He asked how you and the kids were and he and Tay want to have a baby" Troy said.

Chad and Taylor had gotten married a couple months ago and were already thinking about giving Grace, Logan, and Emma their first cousin.

"She's been wanting to have one before they even got married" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"He said that he wants to feel what he sees me feel when I am with the kids" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"You do have that happiest daddy in the world look going for you" Gabriella joked.

Troy chuckled.

"I love them all with my whole heart. You and them are the best things that ever happened to me. I would do it all over again if I could" Troy said looking down at Emma.

"We love you so much" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's temple and looked down and saw that Emma had pulled away from the bottle. He put the bottle down and patted his daughter's back gently and smiled when he heard her burp.

"There we go" Troy said softly.

Gabriella smiled.

"I'm going to go put her down for her nap" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded. Troy walked upstairs and came back down a couple minutes later.

"Troy" Gabriella said.

"Hmm?" Troy asked.

"Remember before I got pregnant with Emma?" Gabriella asked.

Troy looked at Gabriella confused.

"What do you mean?" Troy asked.

"Remember when we fought all the time before I got pregnant with Emma?" Gabriella asked rephrasing the question.

"Yeah" Troy said slowly.

"Would you be opposed to having more kids?" Gabriella asked.

Troy was stunned.

"You want to have-" Troy started.

"Not right away or anything. But, by the time we could try, Emma will be one or older and I love having babies in the house" Gabriella said.

Troy put his hand on top of Gabriella's.

"It was stupid for me to bring it up-" Gabriella continued.

"Brie, babe. Listen to me" Troy said lovingly.

Gabriella looked at Troy.

"Sweetheart, your hormones are all over the place right now. You had Emma three days ago. Would I be opposed to having another baby? No. But I want to wait a while and that's the truth. I don't want to try the minute we get the all-clear. Maybe a year or two after that" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Hey" Troy said.

Gabriella looked at Troy.

"I love you and I don't want to hurt you like I did last time. I want to be honest with you" Troy said.

"I know" Gabriella said.

"So can we make a solid agreement on that?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded and smiled. Troy smiled and kissed Gabriella's lips. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and inhaled his cologne.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

Logan came into the room. Gabriella smiled.

"Hi baby" Gabriella said.

"Mommy, I need to go potty" Logan said.

"Okay, come on" Gabriella said getting up.

Gabriella held out her hand and Logan took it. They walked upstairs. A couple weeks later, Gabriella came home and saw Troy pouring water into a sippy cup. She smiled and walked over to her husband and kissed his cheek.

"Hi" Gabriella said.

"Hey, pretty girl" Troy said.

"How was Emma?" Gabriella asked.

"Sleeping soundly. Only woke up once" Troy said.

"Good. Did you feed her when she woke up?" Gabriella asked.

"I did. How was work?" Troy asked.

"It was fine. Just missed my babies. Have you talked to dad recently?" Gabriella asked.

"I haven't. We've kind of got our hands full" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"But he's been leaving messages for me and letting me know what's been going on. Why?" Troy asked.

"Just wondering. You hadn't mentioned him or mom for a couple weeks" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"Everything seems to be stable as of right now" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"Why don't you go take your shoes off and say hello to the kids. I'll put Emma down" Troy said.

"How about I go put Emma down and you go hang out with the kids, Mr. Mom" Gabriella joked.

Troy laughed.

"Hey, I am just doing my job" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled.

"I know and I love you for it. Now, give me my baby" Gabriella said holding her arms out.

Troy placed Emma into Gabriella's arms.

"Do you want to go see mom today? I can go with you if you want. My mom can watch the kids" Gabriella said.

"If your mom is okay with it" Troy said.

"I can call and ask" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded. Gabriella smiled and kissed Troy's lips. Troy smiled.

"Love you" Gabriella said.

"Love you too baby" Troy said.

That night, Troy had put all the kids to bed. He told Gabriella that he would wake up if Emma cried and she didn't argue. Gabriella came out of the bathroom and looked at her husband.

"I'm literally leaking everywhere" Gabriella said.

Troy scrunched his eyebrows.

"From breastfeeding?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded.

"Is there anything I can do?" Troy asked.

"No. I can call Dr. Brand and ask what we should do. It's just embarrassing" Gabriella said.

Troy smiled slightly. He motioned for her to get into bed. Gabriella climbed into bed and lied in Troy's arms. Troy kissed Gabriella's cheek.

"It doesn't bother me if that's what you are worried about" Troy said.

"It bothers me" Gabriella said.

"Brie, it's just one of those things that comes along with having a baby. It will go away" Troy said.

"Yeah, but it's like every time I change my shirt, I have to go change it again. It just doesn't stop" Gabriella said.

"It will. Don't worry" Troy said kissing Gabriella cheek.

"I still look like I had a baby yesterday" Gabriella said.

"Babe, you look beautiful" Troy said.

"I don't feel that way" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's temple.

"You are sleep-deprived Brie. You had a baby a couple days ago" Troy said.

"I know that. But, I'm just noticing things more and more. With Logan, I noticed stuff that I didn't notice with Grace" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I know. But, this is just one of those things that you didn't notice before" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"You will always be beautiful to me. No matter what. This look actually looks really sexy to me" Troy said.

Gabriella blushed.

"Troy stop" Gabriella laughed.

"I'm serious, Gabriella. You being the mother of our children is something that will always make me attracted to you because you do it so well" Troy said.

Gabriella smiled slightly. She rolled her eyes and wiped the tears that had started rolling down her face. Troy smiled.

"Hormones" Gabriella said.

"But do you see what I'm saying, sweetheart?" Troy asked.

Gabriella nodded slightly.

"There is nothing that I find more beautiful than you and that's the truth" Troy said.

"Thanks Troy" Gabriella said.

Troy kissed Gabriella's lips softly, but passionately. Gabriella pulled away slowly.

"I love you" Troy said.

"I love you too" Gabriella said.

"Get some sleep okay? I think you've proven to me that you are exhausted" Troy said.

Gabriella nodded.

"There's bottles in the fridge" Gabriella said.

Troy nodded.

"I'll find them" Troy said.

Gabriella closed her eyes and fell asleep. Troy smiled and kissed her head softly. He turned off the light and sighed. Troy couldn't believe that twenty-two, Gabriella felt the way she did exhausted or not. He draped his arm around his wife and then fell asleep himself hoping tomorrow would be a better day.


End file.
